Unforgettable Getaway
by Blackspiderman
Summary: Following "When Dimensions Cleave," Star & Marco set out on a well deserved & long overdue getaway. Join the lovebirds as they spend two weeks exploring a new part of their world, learning about themselves, and dissecting their ever growing feelings for each other. Rated T for safety.
1. Star's First Plane Ride

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**FanFiction Summary: Following the events of "When Dimensions Cleave," Star & Marco finally have their well deserved getaway. Join the two love birds as they spend two weeks alone exploring a new part of their world, learning about themselves, and dissecting their ever growing feelings for each other. **

**Chapter 1: Star's First Plane Ride**

**Original Postdate: August 20, 2019**

* * *

It had been a few days since the official, final end of the era of magic. All was mostly calm. In the new world of Earth-Mewni, the humans, mewmans, and monsters were slowly learning to get along with each other. Not that it wasn't bumpy, but the road to get to true peace was surprisingly smoother than everyone anticipated. It didn't hurt that they were all able to unite in outrage over the conspiracy of the Magic High Commission, who decided, in their non existent wisdom, to use magical toxic waste to destroy monsters. Unfortunately, this waste ended up hurting mewmans as well, the people they took an oath to protect and serve. Their punishment for this transgression: a slow, painful end before the era of magic wrapped.

And that brings us to tonight: tonight was a special night for young Star Butterfly. It was the last night she would have at her home before she got to leave for two weeks on a badly needed getaway with her boyfriend, best friend, and hopefully future husband Marco Diaz. She finished packing up her suitcase with all of her clothes, accessories, toys, anything she thought she was going to need for a fun time. Marco was handling the logistics of the getaway - plane, hotel, etc, and although she trusted him entirely to handle things without a hitch, she felt a little guilty not doing more to help out.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Marco knocking at her door, smiling widely. "Hey," He said softly, walking over to her and hugging her. "How's my favorite girl?"

"I'm good, I guess." She held him tightly in her arms.

"Excited about our trip?"

"Oh definitely. I just wish I was doing more to help out with planning, you know? I know you said you had everything under control, but I don't like feeling like a burden either. Does that make sense?"

"Star this is _your_ vacation. I promised you I was gonna take care of-"

"No Marco, it's supposed to be _our_ vacation. I'm not going to let you do all the work."

The boy sighed. "Well, let's at least get there first, okay? It's a bit of a hassle to travel these days."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever been in an airport before?"

"...what's an airport?"

"I'll take that as a no." He kissed her on the cheek. "Well you're gonna find out tomorrow. We have to be up early to catch our flight."

"Uggghhh." Star groaned, rolling her eyes. "How early are we talking?"

"Well," Marco took out some papers in his hoodie pocket. "Our flight leaves at noon-"

"Okay, that doesn't sound so bad."

"-so we probably need to get to the airport by 9, so...figure 8 AM the latest."

"What the heck!?" She objected. "I strenuously object to having to open my eyes before nine A.M!"

"I'm with you, but that's flying for you. You'll see what I mean when we get there...and then you'll wish we could just fly cloudy again."

"I'm already there, Diaz." She said rather annoyed, crossing her arms and pouting. This drew a laugh from the boy. "Just when I think I've learned all there is to learn about Earth..."

"Don't stress, Star. It's all going to work out. Once we're at our hotel the flying will be a distant memory."

She sighed. "I know, I know." The boy hugged her, and she easily reciprocated. "I'm so glad we're doing this. I love you, Marco."

"I love you too." They shared a passionate kiss. "We should probably get some sleep. Last thing we need is to be cranky and exhausted and miss our flight, right?"

"Hey, Marco? What's our hotel room like? I hope you didn't go too overboard with fancy rooms or gold-plated bathrooms or-"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it. It's a surprise." He winked at her, which got a blush from her.

"Ooh, you tease." They kissed once more. "Well I can't wait to see it. And I can't wait to spend two whole weeks alone with the coolest guy in this entire world."

"It's gonna be amazing." He started heading for the door. "Goodnight, Star."

"Night, Marco." She blew him a kiss as he shut the door behind him. She was now alone with her thoughts. She looked down at the necklace around her neck - the necklace Marco had given to her as a gift, the one that contained a picture of their beach day. A smile crept onto her face. She examined her luggage one last time before heading towards her bed. Grabbing her stuffed Marco bear at the edge of her pillow, she shut her lights off, crawled under her blankets, yawned, and shut her eyes, peacefully letting sleep drift in.

* * *

The following morning saw a very early wake up call for the two love birds. Groggy and under-slept, they trudged out the door on a fast breakfast and grabbed a taxi towards the airport. Upon arriving and being dropped off, Star got her first taste at what an airport was like. The mounds of cars parked in the various parking lots surrounding the airport. "Whoaaaa...Marco, are all these people here to fly too?"

"Yup. It's gonna be pretty crowded in there, that's why I wanted us to be here early."

"I'm nervous, Marco. What if we get on the wrong plane? Or what if we miss our flight?"

"Star, breathe. We have-" Marco checked his watch. "Three hours until our flight is supposed to leave. That's more than enough time to get everything done." He pecked her cheek and got a giggle from her. "So, you ready to learn how flying works?"

"Not really, no. But I guess I don't have a choice."

And so they went inside. They headed towards security and successfully got their ID's checked - Despite the fact that Star did not have any valid Earth ID, she was able to get through due to having an ID card crafted on Mewni, which was deemed acceptable - and they approached the metal detectors. "What's this?"

"These are _metal detectors_. They light up and make lots of annoying noises if someone passes through it with anything made of metal on their person. So we have to put all of our items in these bins, even the stuff in our suitcases."

"What? Marco it took me two hours to pack this thing."

"Sorry, Star. That's just how we have to do it now. It's in the name of _security_, which I think is malarkey, but that's neither here nor there." Star groaned loudly. "You also have to take off your shoes."

"What?!"

"Don't yell at me, I didn't make the rules."

What followed was an annoyingly tedious sequence where Star and Marco had to undo all of their packing _and_ their shoes just to pass through the metal detectors. Although it went off with no problem, it was time consuming and quite annoying to the love birds. But now it was over. All that was left was for them to find their terminal, which was an adventure in its own right. They got lost multiple times thanks to wrong turns and incoherent signs pointing them in the wrong direction. It was frustrating, but they were able to make the best of it and instead of getting antsy and paranoid, they decided to turn it into a tour of the airport, with Star imitating a tour guide and Marco imitating a tourist.

"And _this_, sir, is the Echo Creek airport food court." Star playfully said. "Perfect for convenient picking on a tight schedule."

"And what kind of food could one accustom themselves to at this food court?"

"Why only the finest greasy morsels, my good sir." Their charming conversation drew them both into laughter before being stopped by an airport employee.

"You making fun of our airport delicacies?" She said sternly.

"Oh, no, I'm just showing one of our loyal flyers the wonders of this lovely establishment that are often glanced over in their haste to find the correct terminal."

The attendant raised an eyebrow and appeared completely confused.

"We're just having fun, is all. We're lost." Marco said, handing her his boarding pass.

"Oh, Terminal C7. It's right down this hall, make a right, go down to the end of that hall and it's the last terminal before the next turn."

"Thank you so much!" Marco said as he started heading towards their destination.

"Just for the record, I'm sure the food here is fantastic." Star said. "I've had far greasier things in Mewni." She took off behind Marco, leaving the flight attendant by herself.

"Is that what we're calling New York City now?"

* * *

Star and Marco arrived at their terminal, got their bags put on the plane, and took their seats by the boarding gate still holding their carry-ons, with enough time to spare to sit and relax before having to board. "So humans have to go through all of _this_ just to fly on a dang plane?"

"Yup."

"And some even have to fly planes every single day?"

"Uh huh."

"How do they do it?"

"I have no idea. And I would not want to be in a position to have to do that. Flying's fun and all, but sometimes the hassle just isn't worth it."

"Well at least we're all set now. All we gotta do is get on when they start calling us up, right?"

"Exactly. See, you're getting the hang of this."

"No offense, Marco, but you humans have strange, convoluted ways of doing simple things."

"_You don't even know the half of it."_ He checked his watch. "You know, we probably have some time before they start boarding. You wanna grab something?"

"I guess we could do that. What's around here?"

"I think I saw a pizza place not too far from here."

"Ooh, I could go for a slice! But _without_ mushrooms this time, please."

Marco rolled his eyes as he and Star stood up and found the nearest pizza place. They each grabbed a cheesy slice for themselves. "Good?"

"Mmmm-hmmmmm..." Star was too enthralled with the taste of pizza cheese to speak English. She mumbled something that was almost completely incomprehensible, which only served to make Marco laugh.

"I'm taking that as a yes." He chuckled. "Oh, Star, you have some sauce on your lips. Here, I'll get it for you." He started leaning in slowly as if to kiss him, which piqued Star's interest. But she still hadn't swallowed her bite.

"Wait!" She eked out and began chewing rapidly to finish and swallow. A few seconds later, she did, and then flashed him a smile. "Okay go!" And thus they kissed. Passionately. For quite some time, too, before finally pulling apart. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to accidentally gag & either spit it on you or choke."

"It's all good. And just think: when we get to the hotel, we can order as much pizza as we want & kiss in all the pizza cheese we want!"

She raised an eyebrow. "You know, when you put it like that, it sounds kinda gross. But then, so did the kiss in that pig shed kiss, so I dunno..."

"You and that pig shed..."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I _know_ I've been like super kinky lately and I'm pretty sure it was that shed that did it!"

"Okay, so like, when you say that, do you mean this was _in spite_ of us kissing in the pig shed, or _because_ we kissed in that pig shed?" It was a legitimate question. A question that caused Star to give it some good, hard thinking. "I mean I'm not complaining, I'm just curious."

"I think I know the answer, but I'm kind of afraid to say it."

"There's no reason to be. I won't judge you."

"No I know but I'm judging myself and I hate it."

"Oh Star..." His attempt to console her was interrupted by a voice over the loud speaker.

_"NOW BOARDING TERMINAL C7."_

"That's our flight! We gotta go!" They both took off with their things and raced back to their terminal.

* * *

They arrived with time to spare and were processed onto the flight. They took their seats, located near the back of the plane. Now the waiting game for take off began. "Alright, we _made it_!" Star yelled excitedly. She took inventory of the interior of the plane "Whoaaaaa it's so beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it." Marco said. "Cause we're going to be here for a while. It's about a five hour flight. And that's not counting the time they meander around trying to get off the ground."

"Oh cheer up, Marco. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"It can be, sometimes. Runway delays, plane problems, _other_ passengers..."

Star raised an eyebrow only to have her question answered by the sound of a nearby baby crying his eyes out as the plane started to get going. She looked over in the direction of the crying and took note of the young father and mother trying to soothe the baby to little avail. "Aww, poor little guy."

"Yeah, babies really aren't that great with flying. I always feel bad for them and their parents."

"But do they, like, _have_ to bring the babies along?"

"We don't know their story. For all we know, they're moving to the same place we're going to. They can't just leave their kid behind."

"I guess." Star peered over at the baby again. "Maybe I can go cheer him up..."

Marco put his hand on her shoulder. "No no no, Star, you can't do that."

"Excuse me, I'm _great_ with babies. Let's not forget how good I was with Buff Frog's little tadpoles."

"No I meant _that_." Marco pointed to the flashing lights above them. "See that light? That means 'stay buckled.' The plane's about to take off and nobody's allowed to unbuckle & leave their seat until that light goes off."

"Ohhhhh. Well that's stupid."

"Welcome to flying."

So Star had to wait for the plane to take off and for the light to go off to console the crying child. And it was not a pleasant wait. Unfortunately for her Star was introduced to the stagnant purgatory known as the "waiting for takeoff" game. It was an annoying, tedious wait as everyone got into the positions they needed to. The plane had to be delayed due to refueling. The start-up went wrong. Finally, following a boring tutorial on the emergency measures one must take in the plane in the event of a cataclysmic event, the plane started to move. "HUZZAH! We're moving!" Star shouted, which drew a sarcastic cheer from the slightly annoyed group of passengers around her.

Eventually they managed to get airborne, which drew an even more obnoxiously sarcastic cheer from the passengers. And then at last, the "remain seated" light flashed off, allowing Star to unbuckle herself and sneak over to the seat with the crying baby. She took out a sock puppet from one of her pockets and kept herself hidden beneath their seat. Slowly she lifted her arm up into the baby's line of vision. "_What's the matter, widdle guy?"_ She said in her silliest baby voice, which immediately drew the attention of the baby and the parents. "_It's okay, it's just a widdle plane. No need to be scared."_

The parents remained silently confused, but the child's attention was laser focused on the puppet. "_It's my first time fwying on a plane too."_ Star slowly raised herself up to look at the baby with her own eyes. "I'm a little scared too. But it's not so bad! Look!" She gently turned the baby's head and had it look at all the people surrounding him on the plane. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, and there's a whole lot of friends here for you." The baby was mesmerized by Star's enduring optimism, reaching his hand out to touch her face. "Yes, my face is very bubbly. And so is my butt."

The last word there caused Marco to blush in embarrassment and hide his face in his hoodie.

"My name's Star. What's yours?"

The baby blinked at Star, then unconsciously turned his head to his father, who chuckled. "His name is Nathaniel." The man responded.

"Nathaniel! Oh that's such a cute name!" The baby laughed again.

"We're going to visit his grandparents. But he doesn't like to fly."

"Aww, I'm sorry, little guy. But it won't be so bad." She held up her sock puppet again. "_We can be friends until we land. Would you like that?" _More laughter from the baby. But there was another set of laughter interfering. Star turned her head in the direction of the new laughter and saw that in the seat directly in front of them there was another baby being held by her mother peering over the seat and soaking in what was happening. She laughed despite not understanding the situation. "_Well hello there you cutie pie."_ Star spoke to the new baby. "_Do you like sock puppets too?" _The baby babbled in approval. "Looks like someone has an audience."

Marco, still in his seat, shook his head and chuckled.

* * *

What started as an innocent venture to distracting an upset baby from the perils of flying turned into a one-woman babysitting service sitting on the floor of the plane with about a half dozen babies sitting around her, babbling happily for her attention or physically hugging parts of her body. Star was overcome with laughter, and all the parents of said babies were reveling in having a relatively low-stress flight. Star was easily the highlight of the flight for all of the passengers, even for Marco.

"Marco!" Star shouted to her best friend. "Can we have all the babies!?" She beamed, which got the babies laughing even harder. Even some of the on-board couples laughed at her declaration. Unfortunately her fun time ended when the "remain seated" light went back on. "Awww, man..."

"Sorry, Star. Baby time's over." Marco said solemnly.

The girl proceeded to pick up each of the babies and carefully returned them to their rightful parents, saying a happy goodbye to each of them on the way out. And each baby responded by either blowing a kiss her way or asking for a hug. Blushing red with pride, she returned to her seat next to Marco, who happily embraced her. "That was fun."

"You're..._really_ good with babies." He admitted.

"Meh, I'm a good playmate. It's not the same as being a mother."

"True, but...I think you'll make a great mom one day." He caressed her hair and kissed her cheek, drawing a big smile from her.

"You really think so?"

"I do."

She blushed proudly. "Well...I think _you'll_ make a great dad one day."

He turned to her and smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Absolutely." She leaned in to kiss the boy, which drew a collective "aww" from the other passengers.

_"Passengers, please remain seated. We are beginning our_ descent."

* * *

The rest of the flight went relatively smoothly, with the plane finally making its landing at about 6:00 PM local time. Star had started to doze off on Marco's shoulder before the rough landing caused her to wake up almost in a huff. "What's happening?"

"Star, relax. We're just landing." The boy whispered. "You were dozing off."

"Oh, I was?" She yawned. "Sorry."

"You know you could've slept this entire ride if you wanted. I wouldn't have minded."

"No, I know. It's just...my log-sawing tends to be a little louder when I'm tired and I just didn't want to bother anyone."

"A _little_ louder?"

Once again an unamused glare from Star. "Speak up, Diaz, I don't think the rest of the plane heard you."

"_You_ were the one that brought it up." Marco blushed, getting her to blush as well and laugh with him.

"Besides it'll be a lot more fun to get into our hotel bed and crash together, don't you think?"

"I hear that." They kissed again.

Finally the plane came to a stop and everyone started to file out of the plane. In a nice twist on routine, however, each of the parents whose babies Star voluntarily watched over during the flight came over to her and had their babies say goodbye to her. Star and Marco were the last two to depart the plane. They grabbed their luggage and headed out the front of the airport. Marco frantically checked his papers as they waited for a taxi that wasn't coming. "I don't understand...I could've sworn I booked us a taxi to pick us up and take us to our hotel."

"Oh don't get so huffy about it. So what if we have to walk? The scenery looks beautiful."

"It does. But I was hoping we could get to our hotel without any trouble."

"Oh come on, Diaz, don't make it sounds like it's the end of the world. How far is it from us anyway?"

"I don't know, like...10 miles?"

Star stayed silent for a moment. "Is that a lot?"

"Well it's a lot for walking, especially with the sun going down soon."

Star surveyed her surroundings, noticing that there was in fact a taxi coming in to stop in front of the airport. "TAXI!"

So they were able to get a ride from a taxi after all, though thanks to Marco's slip up, it put a bigger dent in their available funds than he had hoped for. Nevertheless, they arrived at the hotel and got themselves checked in.

"Alright, we're in!" Marco said, taking his and Star's key cards.

"Hooray!" Star cheered. "A whole two weeks with my boo and nothing else!"

"You ready to see our room?"

"Ooh, totally! What's it like?"

"It's a surprise. But I'm sure you'll love it." So they took their luggage to the elevator. Though elevators were not an uncommon thing in Mewni, it was rare that Star actually used them.

"I forgot how cramped elevators can be." She commented before smiling flirtatiously and stepping closer to Marco, wrapping her arms around him. "Or should I say _comfy_."

"Aren't we feeling ambitious?" He flirted back.

"Shut up and kiss me." And they kissed. And it was adorable. Their kiss lasted almost the entire elevator ride, only interrupted by Star realizing how long they were even on it. "How many floors are even in this place."

"I dunno, like, 12? All I know is our room's at the top floor."

"Wow, why so high up?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"You're making me drool, Diaz."

"Save it for the bed sheets."

At last the doors opened up. On this top floor, there were only three other doors. One was for the staircase, and the other two were for the hotel rooms. In this hotel, there were only two rooms on the top floor. It was the deluxe treatment. "See those two doors? Those are the rooms on this floor?"

"Ooh, so private."

"_Exactly_." Marco smirked at her as they approached the farthest door. "You ready?" Star began nodding her head rapidly. The boy put his keycard in and slowly turned the knob on the door...

**End of Chapter 1.**

**This one's going to be a really fun one to write. It's not going to have quite the tension of "When Dimensions Cleave" and it'll probably be a bit more lax but hopefully it'll still be a good one. Also, it's a ways away but fair warning: things in my personal life will get more hectic in September so I cannot guarantee that the upload schedule will be as quick as When Dimensions Cleave was. While you don't _have_ to read that story to be able to jump into this one I sincerely recommend that you do.**

**As always, please read & review! :)**


	2. Sweet & Tender

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Sweet & Tender**

**Original Postdate: August 22, 2019**

* * *

Marco slowly turned to doorknob to their room and pushed the door open. Inside, down a brief hallway in front of them, was a giant television with a game system and two beanbag chairs, all sitting in front of closed curtains. Star's eyes immediately lit up. "WHOOAAAA that TV is huge!" She screamed. "And I loooove those beanbags! Marco this place is awesome!"

"You haven't seen anything yet." Marco directed her attention to their immediate right, where there was a huge roomy kitchen with everything they could ask for. "There's the kitchen..." He led her slowly towards the hallway separating the game room and the kitchen, which had two doors, one on each side. "One bathroom for each of us, complete with their own shower..."

"Ooooooh, privacy."

"And finally..." Marco led her into the next room, which consisted of a massive twin-sized bed, a huge closet, and a smaller but still significantly sized television, also with a game system connected to it. "This is _our_ room." Star's jaw was literally on the ground.

"Oh my gosh! Marco this is beautiful!" She reached her arms out and hugged the boy. "I love it!" But as fast as she hugged him, she pulled away just as quickly. "Wait...how much did this all cost?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." He smiled warmly, which only further crooked her frown.

"Marco..." She wouldn't relent. The boy took her shoulders and hugged her.

"Star, that's not important. These two weeks are about you and me recouping and relaxing together and having fun. Money is not an issue. I promise."

"That's not the point. Here you are being so generous and I-I don't want to take it for granted. I mean...I didn't realize it until just recently, but I have _nothing_ on me. Nothing that will help me get by in this new world. I still barely know how Earth works."

"I'll help you learn..._after_ we get back home. For now, all we have to do is relax and enjoy ourselves. Okay?"

She shuffled her feet and cautiously looked into his eyes. She sighed. "Alright, if you say so."

The boy hugged her even tighter and pecked her cheek. "It's all going to work out. Promise."

Finally she reciprocated the hug. "I know. I love you so much, Marco."

"I love you too." They shared a kiss. "Oh wait, there's still one more thing." He led her back to the living room with the giant TV and opened up the curtains, revealing a beautiful balcony with a small table, two chairs, and even a small refrigerator containing cold beverages. The view over the rest of the town was breathtaking. "What do you think?"

Once again Star had to pick her jaw up off the ground. "It's gorgeous! Marco this is amazing!" She ran over to the handrail and peered over the edge, taking in the incredible view. "It's so beautiful! I love it! And this is _all_ for us?"

"All for us. For two whole weeks."

"Marco you are way too good to me. More than I deserve, really."

"Stop talking silly." He gently grabbed her and brought her in for another kiss. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. You deserve so much, probably more than I can give you."

"You give me plenty already. I'm so glad we're here, and I'm so glad we get to finally kick back and crash." They kissed again before the sound of rumbling stomachs interrupted them. "Maybe after some dinner, first." A gasp followed. "Wait, I just remembered! We didn't pack any food with us!"

"Calm down, I thought ahead. This suite comes with an already stocked kitchen with everything we could possibly want."

"Ooh, really?"

"Plus there's a bunch of restaurants around here we can try. We have so many options to help us get through."

"That sounds amazing!"

"That's not even counting the boatloads of fun stuff also around here we can do. The world is our oyster, Star! We can do anything!"

"TESTIFY!" Shouted Star in celebration...before she succumbed to a loud yawn. Marco chuckled as she rubbed her eyes in fatigue.

"Or we can just, you know, crash and sleep the whole time. That doesn't sound so bad to me." He spoke with a visible blush.

"Aww, Marco, that sounds like fun." She proceeded to hug him again. "I don't know, all of it sounds like a great time. I wanna experience _everything_ under the sun, but at the same time, I don't want to go home more tired than when we got here."

Marco caressed her hair and put a gentle hand on her cheek. "You _do_ look wiped."

"I feel it too, and it wasn't just the plane ride..."

"We don't have to rush into anything or, honestly, even _do_ anything if that's what you want. If you want to just lounge around in the bed, order room service, and catch up on sleep for these two weeks, I'm all for it."

She smiled again, peering over the ledge and then back in the hotel room. "That's really sweet and all, but I don't think that sounds like a lot of fun. I wanna explore this place. I wanna meet all of these people, I want to _do_ all of this cool stuff. Spending two weeks just in our hotel room...doesn't sound like the most fun thing in the world."

"Yeah, I get that."

She looked at the ground and then at him again, blushing. Though she looked forward to exploring this new part of the world and having a blast with the best thing in her life, she also knew a day of rest & recovery was badly needed. "But maybe...maybe just tomorrow though? If that's okay..."

"That sounds perfect." They embraced again. "I think we both need a loooong nap."

"I'm not gonna lie, the idea of napping with you right next to me...makes me feel good." She admitted. "I feel safe with you, Marco. I feel happy. And I want to spend every night cuddling with you while we drift off to sleep."

He smiled widely, almost holding back tears. "Me too." Their tender moment was again interrupted by the sounds of their rumbling stomachs. "Wanna have some dinner before we crash?"

"Oh totally. Say, uh, Marco...?"

"What's up?"

Star took a deep breath and hugged him again. "Do you think we could stay in tonight and cook something ourselves? I mean, I don't know the first thing about how to cook...well, _anything_. But...if you'd be willing to show me-"

"I'd love to teach you." He said with no hesitation. "And I think know _just_ what I want for dinner."

"Don't get the hype train running if you can't deliver, Diaz..."

* * *

But sure enough, he did. Proving himself to be a more than capable teacher for Star, he showed her the ropes in how to make the best Sloppy Joes in the town formerly known as Echo Creek. "And...done!" He proclaimed proudly as he and Star put on the table two plates, each with a large Sloppy Joe on it. "And that, Star, is how you make a Sloppy Joe."

"I've been meaning to ask...what's the difference between this and just a regular burger?"

"Well...these are a lot messier than a regular burger. Hence why they're called "sloppy."

Star examined the sloppy joes, then looked back at Marco. "Interesting."

"But wait, there's more! Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you!"

"It better not be a puppy." Star playfully joked, covering her eyes. Marco ran over to the far end of the kitchen and grabbed a plate which contained lots of piping hot cheesy nachos and gently put it down on the table.

"Surprise!" He announced, getting her to open her eyes with delight. "Super extra cheesy nachos for the lady!"

Her eyes brightened and what followed was an ear-splitting cheer like none he ever heard before. "YAY TRIANGLE FOODS!" She leaned in and kissed his cheek proudly, causing him to blush. "But you're totally going to help me finish these, right?"

"Do you really want me to?"

She smiled warmly. "Of course I do. You made them, after all." They shared another kiss.

"That reminds me." From his hoodie pocket he pulled out a tiny video camcorder attached to a small stand, placing it on the table aimed at where he & Star were sitting. "Hey everyone!" he said to the camera. "We're sitting down for our first dinner on vacay! We made Sloppy Joes!"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm filming. I wanted us to capture as much of our getaway as possible so we'd _never_ forget all the fun we had!"

"Ohhhhh, good idea, Mr. Diaz!" She smiled at him before turning to the camera and waving. "Hi everyone! Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Hi Tom! Hi Jackie! Hi Janna! Hi everyone! Marco here's the best cook I've ever seen!" She turned back to him. "And he's also the cutest..." They shared a kiss.

"Didn't you have servants when you were royalty."

"Yes, I did. What's your point?" Brief silence, before laughter ensued. He shut the camera off and the two proceeded to dig into their home cooked meal. Upon tasting her food, Star's eyes lit up in delight. "Wow! That's great!"

"I do make a mean Sloppy Joe."

"I love this!" She said, digging into each and every bite like she had never eaten real food before. "Every bite is like magic!" Without even realizing it, she had cleared her entire plate while Marco still had half of his left. She then went for the nachos.

"Wow. I...guess you were hungry." He said, also taking nachos for himself.

"Either that or the royal chefs were actually terrible." She remarked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Wow. Mmm-mmmmm!"

"You ate that whole thing like you were making out with it."

"You wanna see some making out?" She raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. "Why don't we take those nachos in our room with us and I'll show you some real making out."

"That's the best idea I've heard in a while." He responded with a giggle. But the laugh slowly faded when he examined his person and decided that he needed some freshening up. "Umm...I wouldn't mind taking a shower first & cleaning up, though."

"Same here." So they both got up from the table, brought the nachos in their room, unpacked their bags, got their pajamas out, and proceeded to head to their own respective bathroom. "At least we both get our own bathroom, right?" They entered their bathrooms and locked themselves in, giving themselves all the privacy they could ask for. Unfortunately for Star, her bathroom's showers was not working properly. Try as she might, she could not get the water to come out, forcing her to exit the bathroom and wait outside for Marco, whose presence directly outside his door surprised him when he walked out all clean and washed.

"Star? What's wrong?"

"My shower wasn't working right."

"Argh!" Marco hung his head in disappointment. "I'm so sorry..."

"No no it's fine. We can get someone to look at it later, it's not a big deal."

"You sure?"

She kissed his cheek. "Promise. Okay, my turn!" She borrowed Marco's shower and got herself all clean & freshened up. They changed into the pajamas and took their place on their bed, which Star would find out was actually a water bed. "Ooh, what's with the bed?"

"It's a water bed." He proudly proclaimed. "Comes with the suite, for _extra comfort._"

"I've never slept on a water bed before."

"Well you're about to." He urged her to climb into the bed to test it out. The verdict?

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Just...just _yes_." She loved it. "I want a bed like this for my house."

"Well it's all ours for 2 weeks."

"You thought of everything."

He shut the lights in the room off and climbed into the bed, snuggling under the blankets right next to her. "I did." They kissed.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"It doesn't matter. We're together. _That's _what matters." They embraced and shared another kiss. A warm, sweet, tender kiss. "I love you Star."

"I love you too Marco." For the longest time they laid there, embracing each other completely silently. Only the sounds of their soft breathing filled the room. There was no outside force that could break their grip on each other. "Marco?"

"...yeah?"

She slowly looked up at his smiling face and blushed hard. Her eyes darted every which way before finally looking back at him again. "I almost don't want to ask, but...would you...you know-"

"You sure?" Was all he asked. Once she nodded - clearly embarrassed - he happily obliged, slowly lowering one of his hands until it found her rear end. Then he began gently squeezing it, which immediately triggered a delighted smile and blush from her as she rested her head deep into his chest.

"Thank you."

"I _really_ like doing this, Star. I-I was a little nervous at first, but..." Now he was blushing hard.

"I really like it too. You're so firm, yet so gentle." Her declaration got a chuckle from Marco. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just...that's kinda how I think I'd describe it."

"My tush?" He nodded, which got a sly smile from her this time. "Wow, Diaz, maybe Janna was right. Maybe you _are_ a dog. Not that I'm complaining, I like this Marco Diaz _a lot_."

"That makes two of us." He smiled wider as she lifted her head and went in for a passionate kiss from him. To say that they were feeling like they were in heaven would be an understatement.

"And you know, you don't have to wait for me to give you permission to do this." She nuzzled her head against his chest. "My tush is yours for the taking...at least when we're alone."

"No, I understand. You don't have to worry about me, I would never do anything to embarrass you in publicly. Unless you asked me too."

"I know you wouldn't."

"Good. Just tell me when you want me to stop."

She giggled. "That's cute."

"What is?"

She turned to face him again. "You thinking I'd want you to stop." They both smirked and smiled at each other before uniting for yet another kiss. This one lasted a while. Like with their embrace, it was as if their lips were trapped in a vice grip. Finally they pulled apart and readied themselves to fall into the deep grip of the sandman.

* * *

**Day 1**

The following morning came by very fast. By the time Star finally started to rise from her deep sleep, it had dawned on her that she and Marco had been asleep for nearly 13 hours, a sleep that, in her eyes, was _badly_ need and beyond deserved. The girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes, wiped the drool from her chin, and got out of bed to open the curtains, which drew the attention of a tired Marco. "S-Star?"

"Oh!" She shouted and turned around immediately. "Did I wake up? I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes & checked the clock: 10:00 AM. "Wooooow we _really_ knocked out, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did." She smiled warmly, far more rested now than she had been in a long time.

"You look like you've slept a week."

"I _feel_ like I slept a month. Maybe that was partly because _you_ were here with me too, but..." They both blushed. She returned to the bed and climbed back in, embracing him. "I still can't believe that I'm here with my best friend, and we get to do this every day. It all feels..."

"Right?"

"Exactly." She kissed his cheek, blushing hard. "You're so cute when you're having pleasant dreams. I hope I was in some of them."

"I can't even remember, but I'm sure you were in _all_ of them."

"Yay." They both sat up slowly and kissed each other again, wrapping each other in their warm embrace. Their passionate kiss took them to a world of joy they had never experienced. Enraptured in each other's touch, they allowed their souls to do the talking. Star's soul specifically was up for lots of talking; during the course of their kiss, her hands - completely unconsciously - moved down slowly from his torso to his waist, and eventually a little bit further. The second she realized where exactly her hands had gone, she pulled out of the kiss in a huff. Her face went red with embarrassment, and yet her hands didn't move from their position. It didn't take long for Marco to put two and two together. "I-I'm sorry, Marco. I didn't mean to do-" Her stammering simmered when she realized he wasn't mad. He wasn't even upset. The warm smile on her face helped melt a little of the anxiety away.

"To be honest, I was kinda starting to wonder when you were going to do that." He said with a chuckle.

"You're...not upset?"

"Nah. How could I be?"

Now Star's face was red, but with a smile. "It's...it's really cute. I think I remember why I like when you wear skinny jeans so much."

"D'aww, thanks. But it pales in comparison to yours."

She rolled her eyes, still blushing. "It's not a contest, silly." They shared a heartfelt chuckle. For what seemed like an eternity, their gazes locked on each other, with no movement in sight. "You're okay with this?"

"Yeah, I am. Look, this is all new to both of us. But it also doesn't feel..._wrong._"

"It feels right."

"Yeah. You don't need to be afraid to say anything. I'll never get mad or upset or anything if you just tell me what you're feeling. We can't navigate this road if we're not open about it, right?"

She finally removed her hands from his rear and put them on his shoulders, bringing him into another hug. "You're right."

"I just feel bad that I don't have my Neverzone abs anymore. Took me a long time in that place to build them up and it's probably gonna take me a long time to do it again."

She pulled away ever so slightly and pecked his lips. "Hush, you. That means nothing. It wasn't those abs that got me to fall for you. Besides you already have a cute, hot bod." She got him to laugh and blush some more. "You always look cute in your grey t-shirt, red hoodie, and skinny jeans. And I told you I'm a sucker for moles. I never told you this, but remember when you got dressed up to take Jackie to that school dance? I always thought you looked really cute & handsome in that suit of yours."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmmm. And just between us two, I _really_ love that outfit you wore to the Blood Moon Ball."

"Oh that silly thing?"

"Even down to the mask." They laughed again, coupled with blushing and more kissing. "What can I say? It works for you."

"Thanks." Their conversation went briefly quiet for a time as suddenly Marco found it a bit difficult to look her in the eye.

"What's up?"

"It's...I dunno..."

"Don't be afraid to tell me. I'm not gonna get mad, Marco. We're _both_ going through this, remember."

He sighed and smiled at her finally. "Remember when I said I didn't recall exactly when I started feeling..._physically_ attracted to you?"

"...yeah?"

"Well...that wasn't entirely true. I actually _do_ remember...it was when we were still in Mewni and I was your squire. W-We were in your room after a long day and we were talking - I don't remember what about - and you were taking your dress off...you know, funny story, the whole time I knew you I thought those were really long socks you wore. I didn't realize they were leggings." Marco's face shot up red again, while Star put on a proud smile. "You weren't looking my way, a-and I think that was the first time I saw it and I realized...I realized just how beautiful you were."

Star's face joined Marco's in being bright red, but she smiled nonetheless. "Aww, Marco. You noticed my bubble butt all the way back then. That's so sweet."

His line of vision shifted towards the bed. "Well I know that _now_, but I never actually planned on saying anything. Besides you were back with Tom, I didn't wanna do anything to mess that up. And even if you weren't, I had no way of knowing you'd be so cool with all of this. The worst fear I had was making you think that the feelings I had for you were anything less than genuine. I didn't want you to think-"

"That you were only into my looks?" She caressed his cheek & gave him another kiss. "I've never thought that and I still don't."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No I'm not." Yet another kiss. "And you know what? Even if I _did_, I'm realizing that...I love the physical attraction. I _love_ when your hands are all over me. It feels...right. It feels good. It feels _hot_. I appreciate that you want to be careful with me and you don't want to give the wrong impression, but honestly, you could have your hands on my butt all day and night and I'd love every second of it."

The boy blinked and spaced out for a second. "I'm...sorry, what?"

"I mean for the love of all things butterfly I had the words "Bubble Butt" printed on a fricking t-shirt for myself. I think we've long since sailed past the point of reasonable with this. And I think I finally figured out what it is that made me like this."

"What?"

"Well..." She looked away temporarily, clearly embarrassed. "This is humiliating, but...I think that kiss in the pig shed...I think it aroused me."

"I mean it _was_ our first official kiss as a couple, so..."

"No no, Marco. You're not hearing me..."

"Oh...oh. OH!" Quickly this time it dawned on the boy exactly what she was saying. His face again went red. "Really? W-I don't-"

"I don't know _why_ I was aroused like that, I just know that I was. Maybe it was the scent...?"

"Okay, wow. That's...that-I was _not_ expecting that."

Star looked at him again, still red in embarrassment. "I'm not proud of it! I don't understand it! I just-I know that's what it is, and that I can't even explain why it's like this is driving me mad! I feel like an idiot."

"Please don't. It's not like I'm in a position to judge anyway. _I_ really lile it when you drool on all of the bed sheets & saw logs all night long, so I have no right to talk."

She once again shook her head & raised an eyebrow at him. "...do you really?"

"...yeah. And I don't mean that I find it cute, I mean I find it _hot_."

They both exchanged glances of confusion and horror at each other silently for a moment. Star finally broke the ice with the obvious question. "W-What the heck is wrong with us?"

"It's hormones." Marco said bluntly. "Hormones. They're a blessing _and_ a curse."

Both remained silent again for the longest time. The tension was as thick as a brick wall. Both afraid to say anything, both afraid to remain silent. Finally, the silence was broken when they both spontaneously burst into hysterical laughter, laughter which filled the room and their lungs with air. Their laughter resulted in them falling onto their sides facing each other, still laughing loudly. When the laughing died down, they embraced & kissed again. "Hey..."

"Hey..."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She nuzzled herself up against his chest again. "So now what do we do?"

"You talking about vacation, or..."

"No."

"Ah. Well I don't know. I guess...best thing we can do about it is what we've been doing: take it one day at a time."

"That sounds like a good plan." They both sat up again. "Marco, despite all of this awkwardness and silliness, I really _am_ happy with where we are right now. I feel comfortable enough talking to you about these things even if some of the things that come out are...well, really weird, I won't lie."

"I'm in the exact same boat. I don't want to lose any of this."

"We won't. That's a promise."

They smiled and gazed into each other's eyes. Despite all of the awkward feelings, they were happy. They were happy knowing that they had each other's backs no matter what. They now actively looked forward to conversations like this. It was a massive step forward for them. "So, you hungry?" Marco asked her.

"I could go for some food, I guess."

"That can be arranged."

"Ooh, how so?"

"With a little thing called _Room Service_."

"Sounds fancy." She applauded the notion.

"You know it. I'll order us so food and then we'll go play some video games on the big TV inside. It has _Surround Sound._"

"NOW YOU'RE TALKING!"

* * *

So after Marco ordered them a truck load of food, they headed for the big TV in the living room. They grabbed a video game from the drawer entitled "Magical Warlock Adventures," a fantasy action-RPG that saw Star & Marco take control of two young wizards learning the arts of magic and having them fight other up-n-coming wizards & witches in a massive open world environment. It was addicting...and challenging.

"Hit 'em with the fire spell!"

"I'm hitting the buttons, nothing's happening!"

"You have to wait for your spell meter to refill!"

"Marco I don't even know what that means!"

The entirety of their play time consisted of that: awkward banter back and forth as Marco tried to teach Star the game, only to have it massively blow up in his face when they got curb-stomped by whatever mighty boss they ran into. Fortunately for as frustrating as their experience was, their stubborn nature & refusal to quit until they saw it through made them even more addicted to the game. Eventually they were able to get into a rhythm with the gameplay and got all the way to the last boss of the game. It was close to sundown.

"So let me get this straight: the head of this magic school all of these people went to was secretly grooming an evil cult of powerful, brainwashed bigoted lunatics to suppress a marginalized group of people living in their world all to push back against the concept of societal change?"

"Eeeeyup."

"Gee, where have I heard that one before?" Star glared at the TV unimpressed.

"They do say life sometimes imitates art...or is it _art imitates life_, I don't know."

"I don't even know what-MARCO COVER ME!"

Their attention went back to the game. The final boss proved to be an exponential task for them to overcome. Using all of the knowledge they've acquired while playing they hit the final boss with everything they had. Even with Star still basically a novice at video games she proved to be an admirable ally for Marco's virtual character. Alas, it was not enough. Just when it seemed like they were on the cusp of beating the boss, the game decided to do what most bad games do: pull stuff out of its butt and one-hit KO Star & Marco's characters, triggering outrage from the two.

"What the heck!?"

"Oh boo! Cheap shot!"

"We had it!"

The two threw their controllers on the ground in a huff. The sound of the TV's "game over" screen permeated what was otherwise an awkward silence. Star's laughter started to cut through it before being joined by her boyfriend's laughter. "Okay, that was fun." She got out while laughing.

"This whole day's been fun." The boy added. "There really is something to just taking a day to do absolutely nothing, lounge around, and recoup."

"It was really nice. This is the most relaxed I've ever felt. Buuuuut I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow and doing stuff outside."

"Oh me too. Did you have anything in mind?"

"When I was younger my Dad would always take me to this fun place that had all these rids and food booths and fun things to do. I'm sure Earth has those things, right?"

"You mean amusement parks? Yeah, we have those. Heck there's one like 10 minutes from this hotel."

"Really? You think we could go tomorrow?"

"You wanna? Let's do it!"

"Alright!" She cheered in triumph and then proceeded to give him a huge kiss, one that exceeded all of the other kisses that had come before. "This is going to be the best two weeks ever!"

**End of Chapter 2!**

**So it's gonna be fun for me to write Star & Marco because while I want to write them a little more "maturely" for lack of a better term, I'd also like to keep this T rating if possible. We'll see what happens. I want this one to go for as long as I can, because it's just too much fun writing these two dorks together.**

**As always, please remember to read & review! :)**


	3. Adventurous Amusement Park

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Adventurous Amusement Park**

**Original Postdate: August 25, 2019**

* * *

**Day 2**

Star and Marco decided to turn in early after finishing up their video game. The following morning, Star found herself wide awake at 8:00 AM. Bored and far too rested to want more sleep, she slowly crept out of bed and headed for the kitchen. _This time,_ she thought, _she was going to get it right._

A little bit later, she rushed back into the bedroom and leaped onto the bed. "MARCO!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "MARCO MARCO MARCO!" She bounced up and down on the bed which startled the poor boy; his eyes shot open and his vision immediately picked up on the bouncing girl. She eventually came to a stop and sat right on top of him, her gaze fixated on his, her lips a mere inch from his. "Hi!" She leaned in for a kiss.

"Morning, sweetheart. You look fantastic."

"Oh please, we haven't even showered since yes-"

"No I mean you _look_ like you slept well. _This_ is the Star I remember from when we first met."

"Oh. Well I definitely _feel_ like that Star again."

"I'm glad." They kissed again. "Could you please get off of me now?" His voice was noticeably hoarse now.

"And here I thought you'd enjoy me being on top for once."

"Oh I do, but your knee is pushing in a very uncomfortable place." He directed her attention to one of her knees, which was unintentionally pushing hard on Marco's crotch area. She gasped loudly and leaped off.

"Sorry! I didn't even notice!"

He just laughed it off and sat up. "No big deal, Star. I can handle it."

"I love it when you play the tough guy. Oh, that reminds me! I have a surprise!"

He got out of bed, stretched himself, and grabbed her hand. "What is it?"

"Follow me!" She eagerly led him to the kitchen, where on the table sat two dishes, each with two slices of buttered toast each with a cherry on top. "Ta-da! Breakfast! Charred bread with white cream and cherries!" She had the proudest grin on her face.

Marco examined the plates, then smiled with a giggle. "Way to go, Star! You made buttered toast!"

Her grin slowly faded as her brain processed his sentence. She put the plates down on the table in disappointment. "Aww, you mean I didn't just invent this today?"

Now Marco's smile faded, though he rectified that by hugging the saddened girl & giving her a kiss. "Hey, it's something. You're learning. I'm proud of you."

Her smiled returned as she reciprocated the hug & kiss. "Thanks Marco." She picked up one of the pieces of toasts and held it up to his mouth. "Would you have the honor of the first bite?"

They parted, allowing him to take the toast. "Why of course, madam." He took his bite. Two chews, and then his face fell, which Star immediately picked up.

"What's wrong?"

He quickly shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. It's good."

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Marco don't lie to me." She took one of the uneaten pieces of toasts and gave it a taste herself. Three chews, and then her eyes lit up...in disappointment. "Oh shoot I burned them."

"It's not so bad. They're only a little burned. The butter helps mask it."

"I'm sorry, Marco. I wanted to surprise you. It didn't turn out the way I hoped." She looked away in embarrassment, rubbing her still bandaged right hand against her left arm.

"It's okay, really. You tried. If you're not failing, you're not trying. You just need practice, that's all."

A smile crept onto her face as she worked the courage to face him again. "You mean that?"

He responded in kind with another kiss. "You'll get there, Star. If _anyone_ can master the art of cooking it's you."

"Why are you so good to me, Diaz?"

"Somebody should be, right?" He tickled underneath her chin which spurned a laugh. How she loved his physical touch that made her feel special, whether it was a tickle of the chin or a gentle squeeze of her rear end. "How's about we finish our breakfast?"

"But...I burned it."

"Only a little. It's not like it's inedible."

"You don't mind?"

"Do I look like I mind?" He said as he took another bite out of it. "Let's eat. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can wash up & head out to the amusement park."

She let out a loud gasp. "YAY RIDES!" So they finished eating the toast _and_ the cherries before showering & dressing, ready to tackle their day at the amusement park.

* * *

They set out for the nearby "Super Fun Times Park of Rides" amusement park - a mouthful of a name - and had their sights set on riding every single ride the park contained, or at least as many as they could do before they dropped. They approached the front of the park - with Star riding on Marco's back - and took note of the lines; there were six different lines they could get into, each having anywhere from 6 to 18 people in them. "I guess all these people had the same idea we did." Marco remarked.

"This is just to get _in_?" Star asked, mesmerized. "Wow."

"Don't you worry, these rids are more than worth it."

They got into the shortest line there and only had to endure a brief wait before they could pay for their entry. Marco handed the guy in the window money and was handed two yellow wristbands in exchange. "What are these?"

"These are all-access wristbands. It means you can ride all the rides as many times as you want today."

"Ooooooh, fancy!" They both put their wristbands on and entered the park. They both took a moment to gaze in awe of its massive size, surveying the handful of rides that they could immediately see, and speculating on the rides further down that they couldn't. "Holy frogs, this is huge!"

"I've never been here before. Everything looks so much fun!"

"It reminds me so much of that park Dad used to take me...as...a kid..." Star's face slowly went from addicting excitement to deadpan to total shock. "Wait..."

"What's wrong?"

"I...I recognize some of these rides."

"You..." At that moment it had suddenly dawned on the both of them that in their lust for privacy and much needed rest they had almost completely forgotten about the cleaving. "Oh my gosh...Star are you sure?"

"Yeah! Look-oh wait." She looked down at him and gently tapped his shoulder. "Marco, my turn. My turn!" He put her down from his shoulders, giving his back some breathing room. She turned her back to him. "Come on." He climbed onto her back so she could carry him, then pointed to one of the nearby rides. It was essentially a water ride with a dragon motif, only the water was replaced with green slime instead. "_That's_ the "Dragon Cascade" water ride. I went on that all the time with Dad! We used to come home really wet & drenched in that stuff and Mom was never happy about that."

"That totally sounds like your parents."

"And that one!" She pointed to a different ride - a giant top-shaped ride that spun at ridiculous speeds & leaned in all different directions. "That one's called the "Blitzkrieg," it spins you around like a maniac and it's almost always a guaranteed trip to the puke bucket."

"I may have a thing with motion sickness..."

"Ooh ooh!" She pointed farther up ahead to what appeared to be a swinging pendulum ride. The edges of the ride resembled devil horns. "That one! That one's my favorite! "Devil's Swingset." I love the aesthetic of it! It's actually what got me to realize I wanted these horns."

"Really? Well, you _do_ look really nice in those horns."

"_Not as good as I look in these leggings though, right?_" She whispered, playfully jabbing him. He blushed.

"Not out here with so many people, Star. What if someone gives us the stink eye?"

"I don't care what these other people think. I don't care what they do with their relationships, and they don't have the right to care about what we do with ours."

"I guess you have a point."

"Besides I'm not gonna ask for anything outrageous here, Diaz. _It's more fun to do that sort of stuff in private, anyway._"

"Now _that_ we can agree on. So, what do you wanna do first?"

"Oh that's easy..."

* * *

The Dragon Cascade ride was first. As advertised, it left Star & Marco drenched in green slime. But it was a fantastic experience for them. They exited the ride laughing hysterically. "What did I tell you, Diaz?"

"You...weren't kidding." He said hesitantly. "I'm gonna need a shower after this."

"Thank goodness we have a working shower back at the hotel." She flirted. "Okay, now what? You wanna try the Blitzkrieg?"

"Eehhhh how about the Devil Swings first?" He proposed. "Not sure if my stomach can handle that level of intensity. I probably don't have nearly the stomach you do to handle a ride like that."

"What, you think I don't throw up on that thing? Marco not once have I gotten through that ride without throwing up at least a little."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we make out." So they made their way over to the Devil Swings, where they were met with an outlandishly long line of people and monsters waiting to ride it. "Hey Star? Do you remember this park having these long lines?"

"Um...not really, no. Then again that was before this world pretty much doubled in population."

"Oh yeah, right, the cleaving."

"Well-" She sighed. "Guess we just gotta wait it out..."

And wait it out they did. The ride itself had a large capacity of occupants, so every time the ride ended and they reloaded, Star & Marco moved significantly closer to the front of the line. The problem was that the ride itself lasted a long time - several minutes - which meant long periods of dead time where the line wouldn't move, forcing the two to entertain themselves in different ways. So they settled on a game of cloud watching.

"What about that one?" Marco pointed to one of the clouds in the sky. Star studied the cloud and gave it much thought before she opened her mouth.

"It kinda looks like Ponyhead." She said solemnly. Marco returned his attention to the same cloud and came to the same conclusion.

"Huh...it kinda does."

"I hope Ponyhead's okay, wherever she is..."

"Star if there's one thing Ponyhead is good at it's fending for herself. I'm sure she's fine wherever she is."

Star's face beamed as she turned back to Marco and hugged him. "D'awww, Marco, you _do_ care about her."

"Just because I'm saying I think she's still alive doesn't mean I suddenly like her. I can still do without her but I'm not _that_ big of a jerk."

The line moved again, leaving Star & Marco one ride closer to the front of the line. "Yay, it moved again! I think we'll be on the next ride."

"It's about time." Marco exhaled happily.

"Are the lines always this long for Earth amusement parks?"

"Sometimes they're even longer."

"What?! How can people stand to wait in line that long for just one ride?" Marco responded with a shrug.

At last, Star & Marco got their turn to go on the ride, and while it was an entertaining blast for the both of them - especially since they were able to sneak in a nice kiss - once the ride ended the annoying reality of their predicament returned. Over a half hour of waiting on a line for a five minute ride.

And the worst part was: they encountered the exact same problem with the Blitzkrieg, which they decided to do immediately after. Unlike the Devil's Swing, the Blitzkrieg held far fewer riders on it at a time, which meant a long line for this ride translated to a longer waiting time to ride it. Once again, Star & Marco had to entertain themselves on the line. They decided on a game of I Spy.

"Okay, my turn! I spy with my little eye..." Star surveyed the park around here looking for something. She finally settled on something, indicated by her eyes lighting up and her voice squealing. "SOMETHING REALLY SUPER DUPER EXTRA CUTE!"

Marco rolled his eyes. "Star, this game isn't gonna be much fun if I'm the answer all the time."

She cocked her head. "What? No no, silly. Look!" She pointed to something far off behind him. Turns out she was looking at a couple that brought a tiny puppy to the park for some reason. "It's such a tiny pupper! Look at it, Marco! I wanna give it all the pets!"

He turned to face the couple and his face immediately shined upon gazing at the dog. "Awww it's adorable! I want it!"

"I WANT ALL OF THE PUPPERS AND ALL OF THE BABIES!"

"Me too!"

Unfortunately for them, distractions like that pupper were few and far in between. The line was mostly quiet. Although the ride itself was brief, the line never moved as quickly as the Devil's Swing did since the Blitzkrieg held fewer riders so it was a longer wait. Finally, though, they got to the front of the line. The next ride was surely theirs.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Marco asked her.

"Totally! You?"

Marco gulped in anticipation. "I hope so...Star, I won't lie: I've never thrown up on a ride before."

"Well, maybe there's a way we can avoid it."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Ooh, I do!" She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "What if we kissed?"

"You _don't_ need special permission to do that, but isn't this a bad time and place-"

"Just hear me out: what if when the ride gets to its climax we lock lips? Maybe doing that will throw our bodies out of whack and stop the throwing up?"

He pondered the idea over. It sounded crazy, but then again, this was Star Butterfly. It doesn't even crack the top 50 most outrageous things she's ever proposed. "I don't know, I guess it's worth a shot."

"Let's do it!" At last it was their turn to board the ride. They were strapped in right next to each other, standing up against the wall of the structure. They grabbed each other's hand. "I'll let you know as soon as this thing hits the climax!"

"I hope this works!"

The ride started up. It began slowly but gradually built speed over the next few seconds. "Marco...it's coming!"

"I can my stomach getting queasy!" They shouted over the roar of the moving ride. The ride got faster and faster until it finally reached its peak.

"OKAY MARCO IT'S HERE! DO IT!"

They both leaned in and went for a kiss...

* * *

...and it completely blew up in their faces. Instead of quelling the impending vomit comet, the kiss only intensified their uneasy stomachs and fought back so hard that they threw up on each other, almost into each other's mouths. It was not pleasant. As soon as the ride ended, they scurried over to the bathrooms (which for whatever reason were not gender separated, something even Star cannot explain) to wash themselves off. Thankfully for them their humiliation was only minimal since there wasn't a single soul in their ride that avoided the vomit comet.

"I am so sorry, Marco." Star said, trying desperately to rub out the last of the vomit from Marco's hoodie. "I thought it would work. I am _so_ going to make it up to you later."

"Don't worry about it. I thought it would work too." Marco consoled. He took the wet paper towel she had and used it to rub out the last of the vomit on Star's dress. "Good thing our place has a laundromat, right?" He chuckled, hoping to get her to laugh, but she was too disappointed to look. "What's the matter?"

"Today's not going as well as I had hoped."

"I'm having fun, even if I am wearing your throw-up at the moment-"

"No, not that. I mean the lines, Marco! The lines are ridiculous. I don't remember the lines being this long when this park was back on Mewni. I mean..." She grabbed Marco's arm instinctively and checked the watch he was wearing. "We've been here almost three hours and we've only been on like three rides all day. I thought we'd be having more fun than this." She sighed. "I think we gotta split up."

"Split up! But we just got together!"

"...Dude I meant split up in the park. And ride rides on our own."

His face went red, utterly humiliated. "...oh. Right."

His antics got a loud laugh from Star. "Oh my gosh, Marco, you're such a dork."

"But why, though? Wasn't the whole point of doing this to ride the rides together?"

"Yeah but that doesn't actually mean anything if we can't ride any rides at all."

Again, he pondered her thought. "Makes sense..."

"Besides it's not gonna be long. It would just be for a few hours...you know, until we were ready to crash for the day."

"Okay, sure. Let's meet back at the front gate by...say, 6:00?"

"Done!" They shook hands on it and then exited the bathroom to do their own thing.

* * *

For the most part, it worked out for the both of them. They each got to go on rides they thought would be fun, and it turned out to be a blast.

Marco got to go on rides such as the "Tumbling Drop" - a ride that took passengers up over 100 feet in the air at a snail's pace, then inexplicably dropped to the ground at ridiculous speed, repeating this process multiple times at multiple positions on the pole they were riding - "Deep Sea Excavator" - a ride that simulated a trip into the ocean and culminated with a simulated high speed chase with a virtual motorboat - and also "The Majestic Tilt" - A ride that threw Marco into a box and had him shaken every which way that it could be shaken.

For Star, she got the rides like "Sanctuary Slide" - a massive water slide that sent her flying at incredible speeds down it and towards a giant pool of water - the "Bounce House Bananza" - where Star essentially participated in an obstacle course in a literal bounce house and everything was soft and bouncy - and the "Fight or Flight" - a ride where Star was strapped to a hang glider and sent a rapid speeds on a zipline that carried her throughout the park. To say it was a rush of adrenaline would be an understatement.

Though the lines were still an issue, it was far more convenient for them to go on the rides alone so they wouldn't have to hold the other back, as much as they didn't want to admit it. But after their three solo rides, they decided that they wanted to reunite.

Marco exited his last ride and decided then that it was time to find Star. "That was fun." He said to himself, dusting his hoodie off. "Okay, time to find Star. I should call her..." He reached into his hoodie pocket. He pulled out what appeared to be a burner phone. "Oh, it's the burner phone I forgot to give her." He remained silently looking at the phone for a moment as the realization of his screw up slowly sank in. "Oh my god I forgot to give her the burner phone." He began to slowly sink into a state of panic. "Okay, okay, Marco, don't panic. Don't panic! Star is smart, she'll be okay. OH who am I kidding? It's not her I'm worried about..."

He began to walk away from the ride and in a completely random direction. "Alright, if _I_ was Star Butterfly, what would _I_ do?" He surveyed the park quickly and came across a stand that was selling balloons. There were at least a few hundred balloons up for sale. "Yeah, that looks right." He ran over to the stand and approached the man running the stand, pulling out a significant wad of cash from his pants pocket. "I'll take half of your stock!"

* * *

On the other side of the park, Star Butterfly had herself a similar experience: she took had a desire to reunite with Marco but quickly realized she had no viable way of contacting him. Unlike Marco though, she did not panic. This was Star Bufferfly, after all, and if there was one thing she excelled at, it was making the best of a bad situation to her advantage. "Okay, Butterfly, use your head..." She too spotted a nearby balloon stand - a different one from the one Marco had found - and used the cash that Marco had given to her prior to them leaving the hotel to buy half of its stock.

The result? Star found herself being slowly lifted off of the ground into the sky, much to the concern of the guy running the stand. But she assured him that she was fine and he said nothing more.

Star spent the next chunk of time just floating around the skies holding on for dear life to her balloons. "MARCO! MARCO!" She called, hoping for an answer. "Polo!" A silence phased into her for a moment. "Wait...Marco...Polo." She facepalmed herself with her free hand. "Shoot, I _just_ got that!"

"_Star!_"

A faint yelling could be heard in the distance. Star couldn't pinpoint the direction it was coming from, but she immediately recognized that it was Marco's voice. "_MARCO!? POLO!?"_ She frantically waved her head around trying to locate the source of the yelling. Far off in the distance she managed to see a tiny figure floating with a bunch of balloons carrying him. Yep, that was totally Marco. "Marco!" She frantically moved herself around to get her body to float over into his direction. Marco did the same, eventually culminating with the two of them reuniting and grabbing onto each other's free hands to keep safe. "Marco!" She kissed him. "What on Earth are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!"

"Yeah but I asked first."

He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He took out the burner phone that he put back in his hoodie pocket, with Star holding his shoulder so he wouldn't drift away. "I completely forgot I was supposed to give you this."

"What is it?" They switched positions as Star took the phone and Marco took her shoulder.

"It's a burner phone. It's programmed to only call my phone, so if we ever got separated and needed to talk to each other, you could just call me instead of doing...well, _this_."

"Aww, Marco, that's so sweet." She kissed his cheek as she put the phone in a pocket. "But be honest: this is _way_ more fun, isn't it?"

They shared a laugh together. "I hate to admit it, but yeah it kind of is. I guess you really rubbed off on me, huh? Now, uh, Star? I have just one question."

"What?"

Marco looked down at the ground, then back at Star. "...How do we get down?"

Star joined Marco in looking down at the ground, then back at him, with noticeable sweat dripping off her forehead. "I...didn't think of that." So they both remained silent contemplating possible solutions to their dilemma. Meanwhile on the ground a crowd of people staring up at the two lovebirds began to form. Finally Star came up with an idea. "I got it! Marco we're gonna have to let go of these balloons."

"Okay when I say I want to _get down_ I don't mean by plummeting to our deaths."

"No, not all at once, you chuckle head. Like one or two at a time, just enough for us to start falling slowly until we hit the ground."

Marco examined their inventory of balloons. "I guess that could work." So they started to put their plan into action. Slowly they each let go of one balloon at a time. At first there were no results and they remained floating in the air, but eventually once they had unloaded about a third of their inventory, they started to descend towards the ground, much to the delight of the crowd below.

"Jeez, do these people have to be watching us?" Star asked.

"One thing you're gonna learn about Earth people: we love a good train wreck."

Their descent continued as they released more balloons. Though it was going well and according to plan, Star became impatient. "Forget this, I'm impatient!" She shouted as she inexplicably let go of the balloons she still had and dove for the ground. Luckily she wasn't that far off from the ground but it still came as a shock to everyone, including Marco.

"Star!"

Star hit the ground a bit hard, but she managed to do a somersault and save herself from significant injury. She stood up proudly, a little bit dirty but no more worse for the wear. "I'm OKAY!" The crowd around there applauded her, while some derp standing next to her and held up a sign that read "5." Really this guy was the owner of one of the balloon stands and it was a $5 sign; his fingers were covering the dollar sign. "Um, I _NAILED_ that landing, bruh."

"Your somersault was sloppy." He responded before walking away. She shook her head and ran towards the incoming Marco. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he let go of the balloons and was mobbed by the girl.

"Star, are you okay!?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was fun!"

They laughed again. "It _was_, wasn't it? Although I'm not sure if management's going to take too kindly to our little stunt."

"Oh who cares? We didn't hurt anybody! Besides it's not like we're gonna come back again, right?" She asked; he shrugged. "Hey, you up for heading back to the hotel?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." They embraced each other, shared a kiss, and then started heading for the exits, hand-n-hand. It was a successful day all things considered. And there were still many more days on this getaway to come.

**End of Chapter 3!**

**As always, please read & review :)**


	4. Midnight Trauma

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Midnight Trauma**

**Original Postdate: August 27, 2019**

* * *

Later that night, Star and Marco were enjoying a mostly quiet sleep in their water bed. At least at first they were. But deep into the night Star began to toss and turn. It was mostly harmless at first, just typical "uncomfortable sleeping position" tossing & turning. But along the way it morphed into something more concerning. Grunting noises & soft shrieks began coming from Star. Slowly it began to get more aggressive as she started to kick her blankets all over.

Air punches, right hooks, left kicks...finally a scream from the girl as she sat up in a cold sweat. Panting harder than she had in some time, she sat there in the dark, with only a shining glimmer from the curtains to their immediate right. Amazingly, Marco only stirred in his sleep. As she wiped the sweat from her forehead, she kissed the sleeping boy on his cheek, then got out of bed. Approaching the closet, she quietly opened it and clawed through the legion of clothes they had hung up. Stored in the back of the closet - out of sight from anything Marco could see - was the tiny red box with the promise rings. Unbeknownst to Marco, Star stored these away in her luggage and brought them with her. While she had no intention of attempting to give them to Marco again, their presence on the trip felt like a safety blanket of sorts for her. A comfort.

She took the box and made her way towards the bathroom...the broken one. Once in, she slide onto the floor and help the box in her hands, cradling it and contemplating the horrible nightmare she just endured.

Unfortunately for her, the sound of the door opening and closing got Marco's attention. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and made his way to the bathroom. He didn't realize she went into the broken one. He knocked on the door to the functioning bathroom. "Star?"

"Other one." She said bluntly. He turned around and prepared to knock on the door. "You can just come in."

He slowly opened the door, taking note of the girl sitting on the floor and cradling the box. She slowly looked up at him with a look of embarrassment and shame written on her face. "Are you okay?"

She stayed silent for another moment. "Bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked away from him. "Not really."

"Do you want me to just sit with you?"

This time she looked back up at him and nodded. So he unapologetically walked over to her, sat down right next to her, and hugged her. She reciprocated the hug. For the longest time, there were no spoken words. Not even any exaggerated noises. Just calm, albeit uneasy silence between the two. At one point she hit him with several cheek kisses completely unprompted. Internally, she was struggling badly to conjure the words she needed to explain what was screwing with her head.

"We...we were fighting Mina and her Solarian army..." She finally started, her voice cracking. "A-And she backed us up to a ledge, and then...and then I jumped off the ledge. I left you there...all by yourself...to fight Mina."

Marco's face fell. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

"I-I abandoned you to get killed...f-for nothing."

He hugged her tighter, hoping it would do something for her, but it was as if she didn't even feel it.

"A-And then you and I were at the Blood Moon Ball..."

This statement raised an eyebrow for Marco, causing him to decide to prod her about it. "The Blood Moon?"

Again, she looked away. "I was alone in the middle of the ball room, a-and some creepy guy came up to ask me to dance. I...I said no, but he grabbed me and he started throwing me around the dance floor. I couldn't get way. You...You were standing with the crowd a-and you..."

"I what?"

"You looked so cute in your Blood Moon outfit." She blushed but still refused to make eye contact. "But I called out to you to help me, and you refused."

"I refused? Why would I do that?"

"Well...according to dream you, you said _"Why should I help **you?** You said you can take care of yourself, you don't need **me**. You don't want a hero!" _The words ran hard for the both of them. Almost the exact same words Star used when she chewed him out for following him to the Blood Moon Ball. It was visibly eating at Star, as now she was fighting back tears and losing. "_Why do you even **have** anyone in your life when you have no interest in letting them **help you**?!_ And then...then you turned your back to me and started walking away." Her voice was trembling.

Marco briefly pulled away from his hug to bring her eyes to his level: red as all get-out and drenched in tears. "I...I would never say any of that. And I would never leave you in trouble."

She sniffed back a few tears and turned away yet again. "I guess I deserved it and all..." She took a breath, her mind completely cluttered with dark clouds and demons that were currently winning. "When you followed me to the Blood Moon, I...I felt insulted. You know, I knew that I could handle Tom if he had had one of his classic anger meltdowns and all. It just felt like you were doing what everyone else on Mewni did...trying to coddle me and treat me like I was fragile."

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I just-"

"No no, see, that's the thing, I realized how much of an idiot I was!"

"What does that-"

"When you got kidnapped by Toffee, I dropped everything to find you and make sure I could protect you. I knew that y-you could probably handle yourself no worries. You didn't need me. But...if I didn't try to help you, if I didn't do everything that I could to make sure you were safe, I would have never forgiven myself. I'm sure you felt the same way when you followed me to the Blood Moon."

"I guess, but-"

"But _noooo_ I had to be a dramatic imbecile and make it all about my stupid ego!" Her angst was giving way to pure rage, with her voice cracking harder. "I could've been grateful that you decided I was worth venturing into the unknown just to make sure I was okay. But instead, I had to go and make you feel like you were wrong for daring to care about me! Ugh! You must've hated me for that! You _should have_ hated me for that!" Marco attempted to say something but Star was clearly too wrapped up in her own demons to realize. "And then I had to insist we wipe the memory of the Blood Moon Ball all because I was dating Tom and our feelings were getting in the way, and-Gah, why didn't I punch that mirror harder!?"

On pure instinct, Marco reached out again and hugged her, this time tighter than he's ever hugged her. Star immediately shut up and reciprocated the hug, tears fully streaming down her face now. No words for the longest time, only the quiet rush of their hearts beating and the tears falling. He pulled away slightly to face her; she couldn't bare to look him directly in the eye. "How long have you been holding this in?"

She wiped a tear from her eye, still not looking at him directly. "Since you got kidnapped. I never said anything because I thought it would go away. And it did...for a while."

"But then it came back."

"Yeah...it came back around the time I destroyed my arms and hands with that mirror...and ever since then I've been trying to push it down, and..."

He caressed her cheek. He knew he had to choose his words very carefully here. "Look, what happened with the Blood Moon...I shouldn't have been there that night. It was _your_ night, and you knew what you were doing. I should've just stayed home like you told me to..."

"Marco _stop_ making excuses for me. _I'm_ the one that screwed up! Okay, maybe you should've stayed home, but I could've been a lot more grateful for you deciding to risk yourself to make sure I was safe. But I didn't. And I ruined what could've been an amazing memory for us."

"What do you mean?"

She leaned in and gave him a hug this time, which Marco gladly reciprocated. "I...I don't like to think about the Blood Moon. And I don't mean because of that dumb curse or whatever it is."

"Well what is it?"

"That dance we had...it's one of my favorite things to think about. It was like being swept off my feet. I felt happy, I felt...I felt like I was weightless. It was magical. But everything surrounding that night just makes me grind my teeth when I think about it."

"Star it's not a big deal-"

"It is for **_me_**, Marco!" She shouted, covering her mouth in fear of waking the neighbors. "It should be the best thing that's happened to us, but I let my ego get in the way." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish we could just have a do-over..."

The boy smiled, caressing her hair. "Who says we can't?" Her eyes widened; slowly she looked up at his glimmering eyes. "Tomorrow, you and I can dress up all fancy, go grab a nice dinner, and then find a nice spot for us to dance together."

"You...You really mean that?"

"Why not?" His smiled started to make the dark clouds in her head disappear. "I really loved dancing with you, a-and it'd be nice to do it again." He placed a hand gently on her cheek and brought her up to his level, locking in a kiss.

"Marco why are you so good to me?"

"Because you deserve it. I probably shouldn't say this, but..."

"What?"

"When I was planning this vacation for us, I had the option of buying this really big, soft throne for the room. I-It came with a crown and everything. I was going to surprise you and let you play queen for a day. You know, pretend that you're royal, you could boss me around or do whatever queens actually do." Whatever smile was creeping onto Star's face immediately vanished into a disappointed, guilt-ridden frown. In frustration, she gently punched Marco in the arm. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Because I hate that idea." She retorted back. "Why would you want to do that?"

The boy sighed, scratching his ear. "I kind of agree with your mom. You were jibbed out of your chance to be queen. I-I know this seems like a stupid thing to be upset about, but...you worked _so_ hard to be a great princess and so hard to mend the bridge between the monsters and the mewmans. And you don't have _anything_ to show for it. I never really said anything, but that...that upset me. A lot. So I thought that I could let you at least pretend to be queen for a day and it would cheer you up. I thought you'd get a kick out of ordering me around like your squire and such. But then you hated the party that _they_ threw for you and I scrapped that."

Once again guilt consumed Star's face. She couldn't even look at him; she didn't feel like she deserved to. "I..."

"I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

Finally she looked up at him and barraged him with kisses and hugs galore. "No. How could I be? You obviously put a lot of thought into it, a-and even though I hate the idea, I appreciate that you thought I was worthy."

"But you still hate it."

"Yeah, I do." She pulled away slightly, realizing that she was no longer holding the red box; it was on the floor right in front of her. "Marco, you're _not_ my servant, you're _not_ my squire, and I'll never forgive you if you make me treat you like one! You're my best friend, my boyfriend..." She gently picked up the box off the floor. "The guy whose name I want to take one day..."

Marco noticed that she was now playing with the box again. It was a sticking point he couldn't get over. "Can I ask you something?" She silently nodded. "Those rings...why is this such a big deal to you?"

She gently opened the box, revealing the two promise rings still in it. For the longest time she said absolutely nothing. It was as if she was having a telepathic conversation with the rings itself. Marco also said nothing, merely resting his head on her shoulder now. "I don't know..." It was a question she herself didn't even consider before now. "I guess I never really thought of that. It's just...you and I have been through so much. We almost lost each other so many times, a-and now here we are happy & together, and I'm just...I'm just afraid of losing that. I'm afraid that...I'll say or do something so stupid you'll just get up and walk away and never come back. I've probably done & said a lot of stupid things in the past, but you're still here...I don't know why..."

She was interrupted by the boy hugging her yet again. They locked lips for what seemed like hours. "You're doing it again."

She sighed loudly. "I know. It's not fun when your brain tries to make you feel like you're trash. I thought I was past it, but..."

"Everyone thinks they're past it, until the next time it happens." He kissed her cheek and caressed her hair some more. Star sniffed back oncoming tears.

"How do I stop feeling like this?"

"It takes a lot of practice, and a lot more time. But it'll happen. Star, for whatever it's worth...I _do_ want to marry you one day."

She wiped some more tears away and looked at him dead away. "You do?" She could feel her heart fluttering like madness. Marco nodded softly. "Marco, do you think...do you think I'd make a good wife?"

He blushed and hugged her again. "Personally, I think you already do." Now it was her turn to blush. She laughed loudly.

"Stop it, you're making me blush."

"I'm serious. You're amazing. You make me laugh all the time, you make me feel secure about myself, you're gorgeous, you're funny, you're loyal...what else could I want?"

"Diaz!" She playfully whined, throwing herself into his arms and kissing him. "For what it's worth...I think you're already a great husband."

"Aww, shucks..."

"Well, look at all the trouble you went through just to give us this amazing vacation. And all the times you were there for me when I've needed a shoulder to lean on. And all the times you've made me laugh and lifted my spirits when I was in the gutter. Look at _everything_ you've ever done for me. It's way more than I could ever repay you for."

"Sometimes I feel like I don't do enough for you."

She wrapped her arms around him and they shared a hug. "Nah, Marco, it's me that doesn't do enough. But I'm trying to do better. Promise."

"You're doing great, sweetie. It's not a straight line. You're gonna hit bumps and fall down. All that matters is you get back up and keep trying. You'll get where you need to get to eventually."

"I just hope that you're here for me when that happens."

"I'm not going anywhere." He departed the hug and pecked her lips. "I'm gonna be around long enough to become Mr. Marco Butterfly." Star took her eyes off of him for a moment to ponder that name. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it just didn't quite roll off the tongue the way she thought it would. "What?"

"I don't know what it is, but that name sounds...weird. Like it's a name you give someone in a book or a TV show or something."

"Well, on Mewni, didn't the king always take the queen's name?"

"Yeah, true. I don't know, though. I really like the name _Diaz._ And I _really_ like how much your parents consider me their second daughter."

"They _do_ like you a lot. I wonder if your parents like me..."

"Oh that's not even up for a debate. When I was in the hospital wing recouping Mom told me she took comfort knowing I'd be your queen."

"Oh my gosh." They both laughed. "She really said that?"

"Yep. And when I told her you wanted to take me on a vacation to rest and recover she didn't even fight it. She trusts you, a lot more than you might think."

"That's good to know."

"And don't even get started on my dad, all he had to do was look at you and you won him over." She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly as they shared another laugh with each other. "What were we talking about again?"

"Marriage?"

"Oh yeah, right."

"You know...on Earth it's custom for the woman to take the man's last name when they wed."

"What about when it's...you know, two guys or two gals?"

A perfectly reasonable question. One that made Marco think long and hard. "I guess they decide among themselves who takes whom's name. Sometimes they even decide to take both names."

"Both?"

"It happens. Here, how does this sound? 'Star Butterfly-Diaz?"

Hearing the name for the first time made Star's eyes go big, bigger than they had gone in a very long time. A smile came on, going wider and wider until it looked like it might literally grow legs and jump off her face. "_I love it._" She said, tears going full force now. "_It's beautiful!"_

"I love the way it sounds."

"And that would make you 'Marco Butterfly-Diaz.' That sounds even better!"

"Well being with you _does_ give me butterflies in my stomach." He said with a lovely smile. She smiled back and leaned into his chest with a hug. He patted her head and stroked her gold hair. "I know what it feels like to go what you're going through, where it feels like you're just beat down and struggling to get some air. It's hard when it feels like the world is doing that to you. It's even worse when _you're_ the one doing it to yourself."

"I guess I wasn't as refreshed or recharged as I thought it was. Who knew sleep can only do so much?"

"Sometimes you just feel like you want to crawl into a shell and stay there until everything passes by. And there's no shame in feeling that way."

"But it doesn't sound like a fun way to live."

"It's not. And eventually you have to come out of that shell and face your troubles head on. But you don't have to do it alone. I've got your back the whole way through."

"I know. _And_ you've got my backside, too." Marco rolled his eyes and blushed. They both stood up from where they were sitting and laughed, embracing and locking in another kiss. "Thank you, Marco. I mean it, I don't know what I'd do without you." A thought suddenly dawned on her. She impulsively grabbed Marco's watch and read the time, realizing they had been up for quite a long time. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how long we've been talking. I didn't mean to keep you up so long."

"It's fine, really. It's not a problem." He hugged her some more. "Besides...I'd rather you talk it out with me in the dead of night than kill yourself punching another mirror."

She shuddered, looking down at her arms. The pain - physical and moreso mental - was still in the back of her mind. A constant reminder of how she seemed to spiral out of control. To call it self-destructive was an understatement. Heck, calling it suicidal might also not suffice. As long as she had the bandages on her arms & hands, she would have a constant reminder of just how dangerous her anger could be, a constant reminder of just how badly she flirted with death, flirted with losing everything she worked so hard to get. It was a part of herself that she was nowhere near ready to face yet: her dark side. The side that cloaked her in dangerous, frightening anger, self-loathing, & self-destruction.

"If you want...maybe I can help you when we get home. You know, help you find a therapist."

She took her eyes off her bandages and put them back on Marco. "You would do that?"

"Totally. I have no problem helping you, but maybe whatever's hurting you is something I _can't_ help with, so..."

She shrugged and smiled. "We can talk about that when we get home. For now I just wanna enjoy the rest of our vacay."

"Sounds good to me." Marco did a double take, realizing the tiny red box was still on the floor. He rushed over to pick it up. "Can't forget this."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about bringing that up again." She sheepishly looked away, embarrassed.

"Don't be. It's really sweet that you think so highly of me."

She didn't look at him, but his words again made her blush. "It is?"

He nodded. "Would you feel better if we wore these?"

Her head snapped in his direction, her blush growing stronger. "No!" She covered her mouth yet again. Amazing how the neighbors didn't complain about them by now. "I-I mean, that's really nice of you, but you don't have to. It's just me being silly, I don't want you to-"

"Well maybe we can wear them tomorrow when we go out for our date."

"A-Are you sure?" Again he nodded. She was left speechless. "I-I...I don't know. Can we sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow?" Another nod. "Thanks."

They both returned to their bed - with Star putting the box on the dresser next to her side of the bed - getting comfortable under the blankets and snuggling up against each other. They struggled to fall back asleep so they simply laid there, cradling each other. IT wasn't sleep, but it was still nice. "Star can I ask you something?"

She looked up at him and pecked his lips. "Shoot."

"How come you don't like parties anymore?"

The question surprised her, though she quickly deduced that it stemmed from an honest misunderstanding. "That's not true. I _love_ parties."

"Then wh-"

"I just don't like being the _center of attention_ at parties."

Her answer in turn surprised him. "Oh...but why?"

"I'm honestly not sure myself. I guess...I guess it just goes with me not feeling right when people want to spoil me or treat me to stuff. Something about it just feels...off. If I'm not the center of attention and I can just mingle with people and have fun at my own pace then everything's fine. But when I have to be showered with praise and love & have people douse gifts on me, it just doesn't feel right. I guess I feel like I...don't deserve it? I don't know why and I _hate_ it. I hate not liking having the attention when I deserve it and I hate not knowing _why_ I'm like this." He remained silent, caressing her hair and kissing her forehead. "It's so stupid, because then I feel like I'm punishing the people that just want to show me they love me. I feel ungrateful. Am I ungrateful?"

"No, no..." He reassured her. "You're not ungrateful. At least, I know you don't mean to be. And I'm sorry if I come off as overbearing in trying t-"

"Marco, stop. Just stop. You're fine. It's me, _I'm_ the problem. I don't want to feel uncomfortable being the center of attention. I don't want to feel uncomfortable having people around me tell me I'm doing a good job or that they love me or they just wanna shower me with praise or gifts. I need to get past that, I'm just...I'm just-"

"You're in a bad place right now."

"I guess I am. I'm working on it, I promise..."

"I believe you. Like I said, it takes a lot of patience and a lot more time. But you'll get through it. And I'm not going to let you do it alone."

She squeezed him a little tighter. "Thank you, Marco. I love you so much."

"I love you too." He kissed her forehead once more. "Come on, it's time to go back to sleep. We still have a few hours of nighttime."

"You just want to get back to listening to me sawing logs, don't you?" She teased, slyly smiling out of his view. He blushed hard. She looked back at him and smiled wider. "Oh my gosh, Diaz. I _still_ don't get that, by the way."

"That makes two of us."

"Maybe I should start charging you admission."

"I'd pay." They kissed again, keeping locked for an extended amount of time. It didn't matter how quirky or awkward things may have felt between them. They knew what they had. And they loved every single bit of it. "Goodnight, Mrs. Diaz."

"Goodnight Mr. Butterfly."

**End of Chapter 4!**

**You'll notice I'm attempting to stretch this out a little bit more than "When Dimensions Cleave." Not to milk it or anything but because I legitimately love writing this and I think I can conjure up a lot of material for it. Starco is best couple, fight me. **

**As always, please read & review!**


	5. Moonlight Waltz

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Moonlight Waltz**

**Original Postdate: August 29, 2019**

* * *

**Day 3**

The following day went by mostly quiet. Star & Marco, for the most part, decided to hang around the hotel until it got late. Despite already being here for 2 days going on 3 they had yet to actually explore their own hotel. It was quite the large, expansive building.

Their first stop was deep into the hotel's ridges, where they discovered that it had its own personal spa. The room was small, but it was filled to the brim with every spa treatment one could imagine: facial treatments, mud baths, manicures, pedicures, etc. It was pretty much an exclusive feature: it would only host up to two people at a time and people had to sign up to get their turn.

"Marco are you seeing this?!" Star exclaimed, peering into the window and seeing a pair of women enjoying the treatment. "I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

He took her shoulder; he appeared to be confused. "You've never seen a spa before?"

She snapped her head to him. "I guess I haven't."

"Well I know what we're going to do before we go home. Spa day!"

"Ooh, sounds exotic!" Star turned her head back to look inside the window, then back at Marco. "You know, I have to say, I'm kind of impressed. All of that stuff they're doing in there, it seems..."

"Feminine?"

"Well...maybe?"

He raised an eyebrow. "So? If you're worried about me being embarrassed or anything, don't. Anyone that thinks spas are just for women have clearly never had a mud bath."

She leaned in close, almost as if she was attempting to flirt with her eyes. "And _you_ have?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. They are _super_ relaxing."

"I'll take your word for it, but-" She leaned in more and pecked his lips. "Are they good for other stuff too?"

Marco slyly smiled. "I guess we can find out together, right?"

"You read my mind, Diaz. You read my mind."

They both walked into the front door that led into the spa. There was a counter there will a nice, middle-aged woman working the computer. "Welcome, do you have an appointment?"

"No, but we'd like to make one."

"Excellent choice." She pulled out a clipboard with a sign-in sheet attached. "We take customers two at a time for a two-hour window. Please fill out your name and room number and we'll put you into our system."

Marco took the clipboard from the lady and flipped through the pages. To their surprise and disappointment, they discovered that the waiting list was actually quite long. "Jeez, there's at least a 3 day wait for this place."

"Aww, poo. I hate waiting." Star playfully pouted.

"It's alright. We've got plenty of time." He took the pen and started writing his and Star's name on the list - for Day 9 of their trip - and handed it back to the woman. "It'll be a bit of a wait, but-"

"I'm sure it'll be worth it." Star smiled warmly. "Besides we don't need to wait for the spa to have some fun." A loving kiss followed.

"You're right about that."

"What else does this place have?"

"Let's go find out."

* * *

Their venture into the hotel's main floor took them to what looked like a one-screen movie theater. It looked to be a small room with about 20 or 30 seats and a medium-sized television at the end of the room. There was a pamphlet near by that Marco picked up. "Looks like this is the hotel's movie theater." He began reading the pamphlet to himself. "Oh, it looks like this is one of those riffing movie theaters."

"Riffing?"

"You know how you like you always scream at the TV when we're watching a movie whenever something funny or stupid happens?"

"Yeah..."

"Imagine that but with like 30 other people."

"Ooh, sounds like a lot of fun! We totally have to do this at least once."

"You read my mind. And hey, when we're not watching the movie we can always a little party of our own going on, if you catch my drift."

"Who are you and what have you done with Marco Diaz?" She giggled flirtatiously and they once again kissed. "I'm liking the way you've been thinking. So feisty...now, where to next?"

* * *

Their next stop on the tour of the hotel brought them to a gym. They peered inside and saw a bunch of people and monsters using the various workout equipment in the giant room. "Whooaaaa look at all this..." Star's jaw dropped in awe. "What is it?"

"On Earth we call this a gym."

"Ooooooh a _gym_. Is this where you Earthlings go to get big and buff?"

"In general, yes."

"Is this how you got those sweet abs in Hekapoo's dimension?" She flirtatiously rubbed his abdomen area with a strong blush on her face.

"No, there were no gyms in the Neverzone. Only lots of forest and dirt."

"Aww..." She playfully frowned. "I'm sorry, Marco."

"I've been meaning to sign myself up for a gym anyway. I wanna get those abs back. I looked _good_ with them, don't you think?"

Her blush went out of control. "Abs..." And then it faded. "Wait, no!" She shouted completely unprompted. "I-I-I mean, no you don't..." She smacked her cheeks repeatedly to calm herself down and try again. "You don't have to do that."

"But-"

"I know I prodded you a lot about those abs - turns out I have a really kinky thing for muscles - but don't put yourself through whatever you put yourself through last time just for that-I mean for me. I-If you want to do it for yourself, go for it, but those abs are by no means a dealbreaker-"

Her silly rant was interrupted by Marco embracing her in a hug. She returned it with no questions asked. "It's not you, Star. Promise. I want to take of myself, too, you know. And it wouldn't hurt to get some good habits going, like a workout routine or something. It wouldn't hurt to look that good again."

"Don't be silly. You're already beautiful enough as it is." She reached her hand down slowly and lightly patted his rear. "You've got the cutest tush I've ever seen."

He looked away and blushed. "Stooop..." He playfully whined.

"I only speak truths, Diaz."

"Well you should speak for yourself, Butterfly."

It was her turn again to blush while he slowly lowered his own hand towards her tush. "Look at you go, Marco." She giggled as he began to gently squeeze it. "You know, it was only a week ago you were terrified that I'd be weirded out by you checking out my bubble butt. Now I'd be more upset if I caught you _not_ checking it out." They laughed and kissed again. "You know, I wonder if this place could help make my bubble butt just a bit more bubbly." She giggled, which caused Marco to blush again.

"Oh Star, you don't have to worry about that."

"I know I don't _have_ to do anything for you, but honestly, I think I'd kinda want to see if I could get it even bubblier."

"You sure?"

"Totally! I've realized that my body is like a temple, and we have a duty to protect our temples. And nothing would be better than getting my butt to be as awesome as possible so people will notice it."

He pondered opening his mouth, concerned that what he wanted to say might either offend or weird her out. "You mean like...Brunzetta? Or Jackie?" Sure enough, his words did pierce through her and cause her to look at him confused with a major blush going on. Realizing what was happening, Marco began to stammer. "I-I didn't mean anything by it. F-Forget I said anything." She didn't move. Not a muscle, not an eye, not anything. Finally she closed her eyes and winced, sighing loudly in frustration. "I'm sorry, St-"

"Can we talk somewhere?"

Her sudden question surprised him, but he nodded and they went back towards the hotel lobby.

* * *

When they returned to the hotel lobby, they sat down in one of the available small couches together, Marco grabbing two chocolate chip muffins for themselves. "Look, I didn't mean to weird you out with that stuff-"

"No no no no, you didn't say anything wrong." She reassured him as they both started to chomp into their muffins. "Ooh, extra chocolate chips."

"That's...good?"

"I mean...you didn't say anything _wrong_."

His eyes widened, and he took a moment to dart his eyes around before responding again. "I want to say that I know what you're getting at, but..."

"Well let me ask you..." She scooched closer to him. "Have you...ever been attracted to a guy?"

Safe to say Marco was _not_ at all prepared for a question like that. He wasn't offended but he was most definitely confused. "Uh...n-no, I can't say that I've ever been."

"Could you ever see yourself being attracted to a guy?"

He hesitated to answer. "I...I don't think so."

She nodded in response. "I see." She said quickly before looking away.

"Star...are you attracted to girls too?"

She kept her gaze away from his eyes. A combination of uncertain fear and embarrassment began to consume her. When they first encountered Brunzetta in the Neverzone, she was awestruck. She felt herself blushing at her presence for literally the entire trip. At the same time, her hysterical attraction to Marco also fueled her. It was a rush of emotions and attractions she never bothered to deconstruct. And now it was as if they were being shoved in her face. Quietly, she nodded. "I-I think I am."

"Alright, well that's not a big deal."

"I'm not really pro-wait it's not?" Her head shot up to look at him.

"I mean, you weren't exactly very subtle about it, with Brunzetta and then Jackie." She was blushing hard now, harder than she had in a while. "I'm not gonna lie, when Jackie said she thought the nickname "Bubble Butt" fit you like a glove and then _you_ basically said the same thing about her...I wanted to laugh. I probably would have if I wasn't so embarrassed."

"Well, not for nothing, Marco, but...have you _seen_ that girl?! She's _hot!_" She said this completely straight but with a massively red face. She was carefully teetering the line between owning this and distancing herself from this. "I completely understand what you saw in that girl."

"What!?" Now it was _his_ turn to go completely red. "Star, please!"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Marco..."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, yeah...yeah you're right, she _is_ hot."

"The hottest! Heck if I didn't know better I'd say she invented the term Bubble Butt."

They both got a good laugh out of that one. "I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one that had that view of her." Star's smile slowly faded upon realizing what she had just set up and walked into. In response, she buried her head into her hands. "There's nothing wrong with any of this."

"There isn't?"

"No. In fact it's actually more common than you'd think for something like this to occur."

She lifted her head slightly. "It is?"

He nodded. "Yeah, on Earth, some guys are attracted to guys, some girls are attracted to girls. Some are attracted to both, and some are attracted to neither. It's all perfectly normal...or at least, I think it is."

"What does that mean?"

"Mewni wasn't the only place that had overwhelming racism and bigotry on its hands."

"You had it on Earth too?"

"_Had_? We _still_ have it. There are people in this world that righteously believe a relationship between a man and man or a woman and woman are filthy and filled with sin. There are others that believe people like _me_ don't belong here just because I'm Latino and I speak Spanish."

The utter shock Star's face displayed at this revelation took Marco by surprise. "W-That's horrible."

"You're telling me."

"That's disgusting, that's despicable, that's..." And finally it dawned on her. "That's kind of what happened on Mewni."

"More like _exactly_ what happened."

She scratched the back of her head impulsively. "Wow. So...so _I_ could find girls attractive and everyone would give me a hard time for it?"

"Well not _everyone_. But even _one_ person is too many."

She sighed, lowering her head. "It never really ends, does it?" He said nothing. Did he dare tell her what he thought was the truth? Should he sugarcoat it. "Well...maybe it can. I mean not to toot my horn but I did a pretty dang good job of mending the fences between monsters and mewmans before the cleaving! I may have nearly driven myself into the ground doing it but it was worth it!"

"You did a great job." He smiled and pecked her cheek.

"Thank you. So if I can do that, who says we can't mend the fences here on Earth too?"

"True! But...people have been saying that for...way too long."

"I guess, but that's no reason to give up, right?"

"You're right about that." They both nodded at each other and shared a hug.

"I'm really glad we took this getaway, Marco."

"Me too. It's been lots of fun and you don't look like you're about to keel over from exhaustion."

She chuckled at his metaphor. "Not even that. I-I'm learning a lot about myself that I didn't even realize was in me. I don't think I would have without this. Thanks."

He blushed, taking her hand and gently kissing the back of it. "Aww, shucks, Star..."

"And this...this doesn't weird you out, does it? W-What I said about me and-"

"No, not at all. I'm never going to judge you for these things, you don't have to feel like you can't share them with me."

They embraced again, another weight lifted off of their shoulders. "Why are you such a sweetheart?" He didn't answer; he merely kissed her cheek and made her giggle. "What's say you and I head back to our room for a bit? We can relax, watch TV, do some making out before we gussy ourselves up for our dinner date?"

He pulled away slightly, staring into her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes never ceased to make his heart flutter. "I like the sound of that." He responded as they both flirtatiously smiled and locked into another kiss.

* * *

Several hours passed. The sun was only starting to go down, and it was time for Star & Marco to dress themselves for their dinner date. They both held a bag containing the clothes they were going to wear that night. They took turns using the functioning bathroom to ready themselves. Marco went first. When he was finished, he slowly opened the door, revealing himself to be wearing a navy blue vest & tie, navy blue pants, a white collared shirt, and black dress shoes. Star's eyes lit up in delight.

"Oh my gosh, you look so handsome." She said, blushing and giving him a hug.

"Thanks Star." He responded with a blush of his own. "I doubt I'll look as good as you will, though."

"Oh give yourself a _little_ credit, Diaz. That color looks really good on you. Okay, my turn!" He raced around him and entered the bathroom. Though she wasn't one to normally take too much time gussying herself up, tonight was an exception. She wanted to me a _damn_ good first impression on Marco. It didn't matter to her that she already had his heart under lock and key. She wanted to treat this like it was her one shot to win him over. He meant that much to her. Despite the lengthy preparation time, Marco was incredibly patient. All that mattered to him was that she was happy with how she looked.

Finally, she stepped out of the bathroom to reveal her look. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a dress that was in a similar vein to her Blood Moon dress, but not as poofy. Marco covered his mouth to conceal and beaming smile on his face. But his eyes still lit up, giving him away. "It's...it's gorgeous."

"It's not as big or spectacular as some of my other dresses, but-"

"Star, it's _perfect_." He gave her a kiss. "Of course it doesn't matter what you wear, you'll always be gorgeous."

"Oh you and your sweet words. OH, almost forgot!" She ran back into the bedroom quickly and grabbed the red box sitting on her dresser drawer, bringing it back quickly. She opened it to see the two promise rings still sitting neatly in it. "Yep, still here. Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to-"

He gently nodded. That was all she needed. She took one out and gently grabbed Marco's right hand, putting the ring on his ring finger. Then she put the other one on her own right ring finger. "They look beautiful on us."

"They really do..."

She stuck her arm out to him, signaling that she wanted him to interlock arms with her. "Shall we?"

He reciprocated and they started walking out. "Let us."

* * *

They grabbed a taxi and made their way to the restaurant of choice. It was called the "Slow Dance Dogma." As Marco and Stay exited the taxi - with Marco graciously helping Star out like a gentleman - he took out his video camera and started filming. "We're here!"

"Where are we?"

"It's called the Slow Dance Dogma. It doubles as both a fancy restaurant and a nice dance floor."

"Ooh, sounds exotic!"

He swung his camera over to her; she sheepishly smiled & waved. "Are you ready for the best dinner & dance of your life?"

"Are you going to film every big thing we do?"

"Not _everything_." Behind the camera, he winked at her. In response she giggled and rolled her eyes. He put the camera back away and took her hand, leading her to the door. Like a gentleman he opened it for her to go in first. She responded in kind by kissing him while attempting to enter. Keyword is "attempting" because as she was about to step in, someone - who turned out to be one of the restaurant's premier chefs - stormed out of the place. He turned back to face inside.

"_I will **not** be treated with such disrespect ever again!"_ He shouted, taking off his chef's hat and throwing it on the ground. "_I quit!" _He turned back around and started hustling away from the restaurant. Someone else in a suit - presumably the manager - dashed out to try and follow him, leaving a stunned & baffled Star & Marco standing there. They exchanged looks, shrugged, and then went inside.

The two were seated in a booth near the windows. The room was divided into two parts. The first part - which they were in - was the restaurant portion. The other part was the dance floor. Currently, the dance floor was empty as there were several staff workers trying to futz around with both the music player _and_ the lights. The patrons around them weren't particularly thrilled with this.

While Marco was surveying his surroundings, Star took the initiative to take a seat next to him in their booth, as opposed to across from him. "Howdy, hot stranger." She said with a laugh.

"Aren't you gonna be cramped sitting here like this?"

"Maybe, but I like sitting next to my man, no matter where." The two pulled each other in for a kiss while a waiter approached their table, setting menus down on the table and providing complimentary water and mozzarella sticks. "Alright, let's see what this place has to offer." They both opened their menus. "Ooh, _this_ one looks tasty."

"That's a shrimp platter."

"Shrimp? Hmm...why does that sound so familiar? Did I have that before?"

"I think we did that one time we went to the Chinese restaurant and had fun with those fortune cookies."

"Sounds like a paradise for taste buds." They both looked up at the waiter who was patiently waiting at the table, prepared to take their orders. "Hiya!" Star happily waved to him, drawing a laugh from Marco. Even the waiter smiled at this.

"I trust we're prepared to order?"

"I'll take the shrimp platter." Star announced with no hesitation, then turned to Marco. "What about you, Marco?"

"I'll take the ribeye steak, medium rare, please."

They handed their menus back to the waiter. "Excellent choices." He departed, leaving the two lovebirds to their own devices. It was at this point that Star noticed the plate of mozzarella sticks.

"Hey, what's this? I don't remember ordering this."

"Some restaurants give you a complimentary appetizer for no charge." He explained, picking up one of the sticks and taking a bite out of it. "And it looks like this place gives you mozzarella sticks." He took another one and handed it to her. "Try one."

She hesitantly took the stick and took a bite out of it. One chew later, her eyes lit up like a skylight. "That's _delicious_! It's like a blend of cheesy, deep fried heaven!"

"Ain't it?"

"Maybe we can add these to your repertoire of midnight snacks alongside those super cheesy nachos you always make."

"I'll make a note."

As they went in for another kiss, some commotion arose from the dance floor. Something heavy appeared to be dropped on the floor and on top of one of the poor workers' feet. It looked painful. It _felt_ twice as painful. "Poor guy."

"Guess we came on a bad night."

"Maybe they'll have everything back under control by the time we finish. I mean we're not going to rush, right?"

"Absolutely not."

So they sat patiently, waiting for their food. Most of their time that wasn't spent talking was spent having passionate kisses with each other. And any other time that wasn't spent kissing each other was just spent staring lovingly at each other, enamored with the other's glow. What their lips didn't say, their eyes said for them. Eventually the waiter returned with their food...conveniently in the middle of a kiss. Luckily the sound of the trays hitting the table snapped them out of it, causing them to scramble to look natural. The waiter laughed.

"You two are adorable." He said, while also noting the rings they were wearing. "Are you-"

"Oh no, we're way too young." Star commented. "We're not engaged, we're just happily in love." She went for another kiss with Marco.

"Enjoy your meals." He walked away without a hitch. Star waved him goodbye.

"Bye!" Then she turned to her large plate of shrimp and rubbed her hands together. "Time to dig in!" She took one of the shrimp and took a bite out of it. A few chews to savor the taste...and then her face fell hard, which Marco immediately took notice of. She realized he was looking at her and tried to play it off by swallowing.

"How is it?"

She darted her eyes around, as if she was searching for an answer. "It's..."

"Not good?"

"I don't know. I don't know how this stuff is _supposed_ to taste. Maybe it's me." In response, Marco cut a piece of his steak and took a bite out of it, supposedly testing her answer. He himself found it difficult to enjoy the piece, but he swallowed nonetheless. "How does your food taste?"

"Uhh..." He hesitated. "It's...not great."

"Aww I'm sorry."

"M-Maybe it's us. Maybe we'll like the other meal better. Switch?"

She nodded, so Marco cut her a piece of steak and Star handed him a shrimp. They bit into their new foods...and they got an even more negative experience. "Holy toledo, they undercooked this steak!"

"They didn't even cook the shrimp at all!" He exclaimed in disappointment. "I'm sorry, Star."

"What are _you_ sorry for? Did _you_ cook this?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly. Hush, you." Star started to wave her arms out of the booth to get the waiter's attention. "Excuse me!" The waiter came over to their table, clearly prepared for a bad review. "I'm sorry, but-" She took one of the shrimp and broke it apart, revealing the blatantly obvious non-cooked parts. "Our food isn't cooked. Marco's steak was undercooked and my shrimp wasn't cooked at all."

The waiter facepalmed, clearly annoyed. It was as if he had already done this song and dance with other customers already. Which he had. "Unbelievable, I am _so_ sorry." He took the trays back. "I'll see what we can do to fix this. Unfortunately we're kind of scrambling at the moment."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that chef guy walking out a few minutes ago, would it?" Marco speculated. And instantly the waiter was embarrassed.

"Oh dear, you saw that?"

"Call it bad timing, I guess."

The waiter sighed. "I shouldn't tell you this, but that guy...he's our best chef. But he's also a major head case. But then, so is our manager."

"Ouch."

"I did _not_ tell you that."

"Hey, is there anything _we_ can to help?" Star immediately asked without thinking. "Marco here cooks a mean tamale."

"You don't even know what a tamale is, Star."

"That's very kind of you but it's not your problem. We'll handle things." The waiter turned around and walked away leaving the two lovebirds to dissect their newly learned information.

"Star, I know you mean well, but he's right. It's not our problem. They're the ones that work here, not us."

"I know, but we made such a big deal out of this, I'd hate to see it go to waste because the inner workings of this place decided to have a stroke." Marco snort-laughed, clearly unprepared for the unusual analogy. Star joined in the laughter, but it was short lived as they surveyed their surroundings again. Their fellow patrons were growing impatient and frustrated with the lack of quality food coming out, and it appeared that progress to fix the problems on the dance floor had stalled completely. Sensing his falling confidence, Star consoled Marco. "Don't feel bad...this isn't your fault. Besides, I'm having fun anyways."

He shot up to look at her. "You are?"

"Yeah. I'm here with _the_ coolest & sweetest guy in the world who makes me feel loved every chance he gets. It can't get much better than that." He smiled sheepishly & blushed.

"You're too nice."

"Don't act like you haven't earned it." She leaned it and kissed him again, which once again was interrupted by commotion on the dance floor. There was a spark of electricity coming from the music player, which caused it and the lights on the dance floor to malfunction & shut down, resulting in a loud, collective groan from everyone in the building, even the staff workers. Both Star and Marco silently shook their heads as their waiter came back out, this time with an entirely different meal. It was a giant lasagna for two.

"I'm terribly sorry about your meals. We hope this one turns out better." He said solemnly.

"Oh, thank you, but you didn't have to-" Star's voice trailed off. She could easily sense the disappointment in the waiter's voice. Poor guy. None of this was his fault, but he, along with everyone else, was likely going to have to hear it from the manager later on. He said nothing but quietly urged them to take a bite, silently praying that it was at least edible. The two lovebirds took a bite of the lasagna. Not only was it not edible, but... "This...is completely frozen."

The waiter sunk his head in total defeat. Star, completely out of habit, stood up and patted his arm in an attempt to console him. By this point the workers on the dance floor started to loudly argue with each other. The patrons began to argue as well, both with the workers _and_ among themselves. Star and Marco exchanged looked and sulked while Star retook her seat. "This...isn't going the way I thought it would. I'm not sure how it could be worse." Marco said sadly.

"You know what? Forget this. Marco, it's time for us to take charge!" She stood up and grabbed Marco's hand, as he followed suit. "Your phone can play music, right?" He nodded, pulling it out and handing it to her; she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a flashlight that had a fat end for the light. "I'll be right back." She took both and raced towards the dance floor. Using her acrobatic skills and obviously hidden black magic, she managed to make it to the ceiling and hook up her flashlight, turning it on and shining a huge spotlight on the ground that took up a majority of the dance floor. This act of wizardry drew the applause and admiration from the workers and patrons, including Marco, who didn't hesitate to brag about her to the others.

"That's my girlfriend." He said to the patron at the table behind him.

Star's next venture took her to the music player, where she was somehow able to connect Marco's phone to the speakers there. The sound quality was going to be sub-par, but at least music would play. Once she selected a song from the playlist, she leaped back to the center of the dance floor and took in a deep breath, preparing to shout. "**_MARCO DIAZ!"_** She shouted; any remaining chattering among the restaurant was instantly silenced. Marco hesitantly stood up from his seat as Star lovingly stuck her arm out in his direction. "Please report to the dance floor."

Everyone in the restaurant turned to Marco, whose face went red. He slowly - a snail could outrun him - walked towards the dance floor. Star's smile stayed on her face the entire time. He reached the floor and gently took her hand; they took their ready dance positions. "Are you sure about this?"

"Marco we said we were gonna dance and dang it we're going to dance." She said firmly. "Sorry the sound's probably going to be terrible."

"Oh don't worry about that." Marco smiled at her, kissing her cheek. "I'm sure it'll sound fine. What song did you go with anyway?"

She shrugged. "No idea. I didn't recognize any of the songs on your playlist so I just picked one at random. I hope it fits."

"I guess we're going to find out either way, right?"

She giggled. Her head turned to the music playing area; a worker had generously walked over and was standing by the phone, ready to hit play. She nodded, and the deed was done. The song began to crescendo. "You want to lead or should I?"

He gave it an honest thought before answering. "Surprise me." He said with a wink. Her smile grew to twice its size as she began to lead him into their beautiful dance. The music playing got everyone to pay close attention to the two lovebirds dancing. Whatever anger and fury any of them were feeling at the moment was significantly quelled.

_**I found a love, for me**_  
_**Darling just dive right in, f**__**ollow my lead**_

Both lovebirds' faces immediately lit up as they realized: this was it. This was their song. It was _perfect_.

_**Well I found a girl beautiful and sweet **_  
_**I never knew you were the someone waiting for me**_

There wasn't even any choreography to their dance. They just allowed their hearts and their bodies to do the talking for them. Despite the lack of choreography, everyone was mesmerized. It wasn't the dance itself that was winning them over; it was the love permeating from Star & Marco that drew them in. It was palpable. It was obvious to anyone who cared enough to pay even the slightest bit of attention. Their incredible chemistry persuaded some of the patrons to stand from their seats, seriously contemplating joining them on the dance floor. These couples included an elderly husband & wife, a young (early 20s) male couple, a mid 30s interracial female couple, a father & daughter, a mother & son, and several other young boyfriends & girlfriends.

_**'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love  
Not knowing what it was**_  
_**I will not give you up this time**_  
_**Darling just kiss me slow  
Your heart is all I own**_  
_**And in your eyes you're holding mine**_

The elderly husband & wife, the father & daughter, and one of the young boyfriend/girlfriend couples began to make their way to the dance floor. The restaurant workers sat back and stared in amazement.

_**Baby, I'm dancing in the dark  
With you between my arms**_  
_**Barefoot on the grass  
Listening to our favorite song**_  
_**When you said you looked a mess  
I whispered underneath my breath**_  
_**But you heard it, darling  
You look perfect tonight**_

Star & Marco were so wrapped up in their dance they initially didn't notice the others wanting to join them. It was only when Marco accidentally bumped the elderly husband that they realized what was happening. "Are you seeing this?"

"I sure am." Star beamed. "I guess this night wasn't all bad, was it?"

"Bad? Tonight is _amazing_."

"No, **_you're_** amazing."

The two shared a passionate kiss with each other before Marco twirled his girlfriend around and got many "aww's" from the surrounding crowd.

_**Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know**_  
_**She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her hooo-ooo-ooome**_

_**I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets**_  
_**To carry love, to carry children of our own**_

Soon enough _every_ one of the couples that stood up joined the dance floor and began dancing to the music. It made the dance floor a little cramped for Star & Marco but they didn't care at all. It only made the experience more surreal & memorable.

"You're a great dancer, Marco."

"I'm not really even dancing. I'm just winging it."

"Well, you could've fooled me." She kissed him. "By the way, Marco..."

"Yeah?"

"...can we make this _our_ song?"

Her question caught him off guard, but it only took a brief thought before he happily nodded. Another kiss was shared.

**_We are still kids, but we're so in love_**  
**_Fighting against all odds_**  
**_I know we'll be alright this time_**  
**_Darling, just hold my hand_**  
**_Be my girl, I'll be your man_**  
**_I see my future in your eyes_**

Tears were being shed by the workers who were watching this beautiful moment unfold. What started out as an unmitigated disaster was turning into a special occasion and memory for everyone that was there to witness it. Even the head chef that walked out of the restaurant earlier walked back in and gazed at the dance floor. He and even the restaurant manager got to share a silent crying moment together.

Every couple that got on the dance floor had themselves an incredible time dancing. Everyone literally just went with the flow and it produced a truly magical experience.

_**Baby, I'm dancing in the dark  
With you between my arms**_  
_**Barefoot on the grass  
Listening to our favorite song**_  
_**When I saw you in that dress  
Looking so beautiful**_  
_**I don't deserve this  
Darling you look perfect tonight**_

At one point Star found herself dancing right next to the elderly husband. He & his wife were glowing with joy, which made Star smile proudly. Completely unprompted, Star decided to prod. "How long have you two been together?"

The elderly man remained silent for a moment before answering. Old age had slightly damaged his memory but not enough to make him forget such an important answer. "It'll be...fifty years next month."

Needless to say his answer stunned her. "Woooow..." She quickly turned to Marco. "Did you hear that?"

He nodded, also smiling. "I hope I'm lucky enough to be with you even half as long."

She broke from the dance and gave him a giant bear hug. "I hope we're together for twice as long. At least."

They abandoned the dancing entirely and just went in for a passionate kiss, symbolically lighting up the entire room as the music reached its climax.

_**Baby, I'm dancing in the dark  
With you between my arms**_  
_**Barefoot on the grass  
Listening to our favorite song**_  
_**I have faith in what I see**_  
_**Now I know I have met an angel in person**_  
_**And she looks perfect**_

Their kiss drew applause from literally everyone still in the building. They were too enamored with each other's warmth to break away, but they knew it was there. Magic might have been destroyed, but for this one glorious night, it came back to them. And it was never going away.

_**I don't deserve this**_  
_**You look perfect tonight**_

They finally broke away as the music faded and the spotlight started to die on them. They gazed around the room at everyone applauding them. Wiping tears from their eyes, they took each other's hand and bowed in gratitude. Finally, they had their proper Blood Moon Ball dance. And it was even more beautiful than even their best dreams could've put it.

**End of Chapter 5!**

**As always, please read & review! Spread the word! Tell your friends! Make highway signs! :)**


	6. Paintball Palooza

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Paintball Palooza**

**Original Postdate: September 1, 2019**

* * *

**Day 4**

A new day on their vacation had arrived. And today's activity? A fun game of paintball.

"Paintball?"

Star was still learning about most things Earth-exclusive, and paintball was one of those things, and Marco used their in-house breakfast time to teach her about it.

"Yep, it's a fun Earth game where you're split up into teams and you fire paintballs at the opposing team."

"Sounds like a lot of fun. I think we had something like that on Mewni. It was mostly like what you just described, only we used melted corn and we called it "Corn Splat."

"And let me guess. The prize was corn." Star stared blankly at him. Her lack of response said it all for the boy. "Wow."

"Don't remind me." She rolled her eyes. "This is why I'm not going out of my way to ask for any corn-related foods." She chuckled while taking a bite out of her breakfast. "I hope we're on the same team today."

"I don't see why we wouldn't be. Besides, even if we're not, what's the harm? It's just a friendly competition, right?"

"True, but remember our Game of Flags? I have my wildly competitive side and...I don't want things to get ugly."

"Nah I doubt that would happen. This isn't your Mewni's game. Besides, I'd be a little disappointed if you didn't play like you were trying to win."

Star, sensing a friendly challenge, smirked at him and put her fork down. "You're going to regret saying those words, Diaz." She said with an evil-ish smile on her face and leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

Once they finished, they hitched a taxi and went up to the place where their day's activity would be taking place. It was this gigantic building with the name "Super Paintball Palooza" hanging up on a sign in front of it. They entered the building to find a small group of 8 other people also waiting. They were here for the same thing: a fun game of paintball. There was a big set of double doors on one of the walls; this door led to the arena in which these competitors would partake in today's game of paintball.

Star & Marco awkwardly took a seat next to two of the other people in the area. There was silence between the four of them for a brief moment, but finally Star found herself opening her mouth. "So...where are you guys from?" She asked casually. One of them lifted their head from their phone to look at her.

"We've flown in from Pittsburgh." The male answered.

Star gasped happily. "You're Yinzers!" Marco's head snapped in Star's direction. _A what?_ He was utterly dumbfounded. "That's amazing!"

"What did you say?!" He exclaimed completely confused.

"Yinzer. It's just a term used to describe people that live in the city of Pittsburgh. You didn't know that?"

"...no. And you _did_?!"

"Why does that surprise you?" She raised an eyebrow, teetering on possibly being offended by his outburst. He gently pulled her towards him and whispered,

"_So you didn't know what **Thunder Thighs** meant but you know what a **Yinzer** is?"_

"You don't know _everything_ about me, Marco."

During their conversation, a short, slightly overweight man walked into the room and gathered everyone's attention. "Attention, everybody!" His voice bellowed loud enough to quell the lingering conversations. "Welcome to "Super Paintball Palooza!" We hope you have a wonderful time with us today. Before we begin, is there anybody here who has never played a game of paintball before in their lives? Don't be shy."

Several of the 10 participants in the room sheepishly raised their hands. Star was among them. Marco - in a show of solidarity - also raised his hand, which surprised Star. "I thought you've played this game before?" She whispered to him.

"I have." He said with a wink. She got the hint and kissed his cheek as a thank you.

"Ok, that's alright, we can fix that right now." The man walked over to one of the corners of the room, where there was a box covering a button. He lifted the box and pressed the button. On another wall, a section of said wall flipped over revealing a large, wide-screen television. "While we prepare the equipment for your playing pleasure, please enjoy this tutorial video on how you will play the game at our state-of-the-art arena."

The TV turned on and began to play an instructional video for the group.

**_"Welcome to "Super Paintball Palooza! Today, you will all be partaking in the most spectacular, adrenaline-rushing game of paintball of your lives. For this isn't just any game of paintball. Behold...your playing arena."_**

The feed switched to what appeared to be a view from inside the double doors. It was a massive room that resembled part jungle, part playground. A perfect hybrid made for chaos.

_**"600 acres worth of land for you all to traverse. Use all of it to your advantage. Each of you will be provided with a state-of-the-art paintball gun that can hold as many as 100 paint balls at once. When you run out of ammo, you must return to this room to receive a new batch of paint balls to reload your weapon. You will be split up into two teams of five, marked by these colored arm flags you will also be supplied with." **_A picture of two different colored arm flags - one blue and one yellow - appeared on the screen. _**"Your paint balls will also correspond with your team color. Every time you successfully land a paint ball on the opposing team, your team earns one point. The team with the most points at the end of the two hour time limit wins."**_

"Two hours?!" Star whispered. Even Marco was surprised at this development.

"I can see why this place is called the "Number One Paint Ball Experience" in the world." Marco whispered back. While the video was going on, the man went around and handed each of them a colored arm flag. Star got a yellow flag, and Marco got a blue flag, meaning they were on opposite teams. "Oh man..."

"Looks like we're rivals today." Star smirked at him before giving him a kiss. "I love you Marco Diaz, but today, you're going down."

"I'm going to make you eat those words, Butterfly."

"I can't wait to see you try."

Each of them were also handed a pre-loaded paintball gun corresponding with their respective color. "That concludes the tutorial video. Before we begin, does anybody have any questions?"

One of the blue-flagged guys put his hand up. "Yeah is there a bathroom in this place?"

"No questions, great!"

They were all led into the giant playing arena. On video, it looked glorious. In person, its beauty couldn't even be quantified. Trees - real trees - as high as the ceiling on the building would allow. Beautiful plants scattered all around the room. Rocks sitting everywhere. It was as if this place had only recently been planted with new trees & plants. Truly awe-inspiring. There was also a massive TV screen etched into one of the walls. While clearly an eyesore it was necessary for the game at hand, both to keep score _and_ to keep track of time.

A voice came over on the loudspeaker. "_Contenders please scattered throughout the arena. Play will begin shortly."_

Star & Marco looked at each other. "Guess this is it." Marco said solemnly.

"Don't be glum, it's just a game. Let's go out there and show these amateurs how it's done."

"Sounds good to me." They shared a kiss. "But I promise you if we run into each other out there, no mercy."

She gently grabbed his hoodie and pulled him close to her. "_No mercy."_

So everyone scattered, each taking a different corner of the gigantic room, preparing for the horn to signal the start of play. This day promised to be quite the fun one.

The horn sounded, and everyone went off...

* * *

The game proved to be ruthless, relentless fun. Everyone got in hits on each other. Star & Marco established themselves quickly & early as the top dogs of the room, getting in the most shots on opponents out of everyone else playing. Their quick reflexes & aggressive play stunned even their own teammates. Everyone involved learned quickly that the arena wasn't even just as massive as its surface indicated: beneath some of the rocks lay trap doors allowing competitors to hide out and stake the competition. The trees could be climbed out to get a bird's eye view of the competition & avoid detection. Some of the trees themselves even had trap doors in them. Every one of these advantages were utilized by everyone involved, turning what would normally be a simple game of paint ball into something of a pantheon.

Star & Marco, for their part, made a conscious effort to avoid each other during the skirmish so they didn't have to shoot at each other. However, there was one instance just before the halfway mark where they bumped into each other behind a rock. The physical contact caused both of them to yelp and turn around facing each other. They blushed, still clutching their weapons. "Hey." Marco said awkwardly.

"Hiya."

"Fun day, huh?"

"The best. I told you we'd show these amateurs who the top dogs are."

"You were right about that. I saw you out there, making fools of all of my team."

"Don't sell yourself short, Marco. You've been great out there! I've been trying to avoid you all day, I don't wanna get hit by you."

"Aww stop it..." He scratched her ear and blushed with a hint of self-pride emanating.

"Although..." She slowly lifted her paint ball gun at him. "I may have to stop avoiding you if I want to win." Marco followed suit, raising his gun to her, preparing to pull the trigger.

But at that exact moment, a horn sounded, signaling a break in play. "_HALFTIME!" _A voice over the loudspeaker shouted. "_ALL COMPETITORS PLEASE RETURN TO HOME BASE FOR HALFTIME." _At the halfway mark - with an hour of play left - the score stood 376-339, with Star's team holding a slight edge.

When everyone returned to the main lobby, a cart of snacks and water was waiting for them, much to their delight. Star & Marco reunited and immediately shared a hug. They split themselves from the rest of the group and snacked by themselves. "I have to admit, Diaz, I'm impressed. You've been kicking serious butt out there."

"Thanks." He said with a smile. "You've really rubbed off on me."

"I see that. But you're still not going to win."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Butterfly. You're not exactly running away with this game."

"Wow, look at you, Mr. Trash Talk."

The voice over the loudspeaker came back. "_ALL COMPETITORS PLEASE RETURN TO THE ARENA. PLAY RESUMES IN FIVE MINUTES."_

Star & Marco looked at each other and smiled warmly. "Guess that's our cue." Marco said kissing her again. "See you out there?"

"Remember, Marco: _No mercy."_ She winked, and they both returned to the arena.

* * *

It was near the end of the game. Whatever edge Star's team had going into halftime was significantly eroded out thanks to Marco's elite play. He had most of Star's teammates on the run for retreat the whole time and with the help of his own team, even cornered some of them and painted them into submission.

That left Star as the lone yellow member they needed to find. In the second half she did her part to attack Marco's team and did an even better job staying elusive & hidden from detection. But as Marco's team began to gain the upper hand on the rest of her team, she up'd her game, blasting each of his teammates multiple times leaving Marco in her sights. At the moment, it was her and Marco in a brutal face off, and Star wasted no time in chasing after him shooting nearly her entire load of ammo.

Despite being on the run, Marco did an excellent job avoiding every one of her blasts, which only served to frustrate her. Eventually he made it to the biggest tree in the arena and scurried up it quickly, managing successfully to hide in the bustle of leaves while Star emptied her ammunition; she only stopped firing once paint balls stopped coming out. From the tree, Marco quietly peered his head out to gauge Star's status. "What's the matter, Butterfly? Out of ammo?"

"Sweet moves, Diaz!" She yelled. "But you know you can't win by just playing defense, right?"

"You're right. So I'll fix that right now!" He pointed his paint ball gun out of the leaves and right at Star, causing her to shriek. He pulled the trigger and began firing paint balls ad nausea at her, and though her movement was far more erratic and unpolished, she too succeeded in avoiding being hit by him. Unlike Star, however, Marco stopped firing _before_ he ran out. "Where's your swagger _now_?"

In the distance they heard faint screaming and yelling, indicating that the rest of the players were not too far off from where they were. "It ain't over until the fat lady sings, Diaz! You're still not going to win!" She returned and ran towards the noise, since that was also where the main lobby/reloading section was located.

"Get ready to eat those words, Butterfly!" He shouted as he started climbing down the tree. Once he was about halfway down, he made a leap for the ground. Unfortunately, he landed awkwardly on one of his legs and fell over, with a noticeably loud grunt. He got back to his feet but he found it increasingly uncomfortable to walk on his right leg. Despite this he attempted to chase after Star, only to fall down again when his right ankle gave out on him. Hearing his yelp, Star turned around and saw Marco down on the ground. The competitor inside of her could've easily decided that Marco was faking it in order to psych her out. But she wasn't stupid. Marco was not the type of person that would stoop as low as faking an injury just to get a win out. She knew better.

**_"MARCO!_**" She raced back over to him to assist him in sitting up. "Marco, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just landed hard on my right ankle." He said, slightly wincing. "I think it's just a sprain."

She rolled up his right pant leg and gently felt around his ankle, gauging the damage. "We should get you to a doctor or something."

"Star, I'm _fine_. Besides the game's almost over anyway. Go finish it, we can see a doctor later-"

"That's not the point! You're hurt. No game is more important than that." She attempted to pick him up to carry him only to find the two of them surrounded by the rest of the players, each readying their weapons on them.

"Nowhere to run, punks." One of the yellow-flagged ones said.

"Yo Butterfly, move so we can fire!" Another yellow-flagged competitor added. "So much for your so-called "secret weapon."

Despite knowing full well that this was all still in good fun, Star was having none of it. She stood up, grabbed one of the guns from _her own team_, and she tossed it away. "_He's my boyfriend and **HE'S INJURED YOU TURDS!"**_

Her words surprised the lot of them, Marco included.

"Whoa, bruh, it was just a joke. I didn't mean nothing by it." Said the person who just had their gun stolen from Star.

"Yeah Star it's all in good fun." Marco added. "They wouldn't try to hurt me on purpose or take pleasure in me being hurt."

"Seriously. We're Yinzers, not psychopaths."

"Well it doesn't matter! We're done playing." She proceeded to pick him up and start carrying him towards the main lobby.

"Hey! The game's not over yet!" One of the blue-flagged competitors yelled out. Indeed, there was still ten minutes left on the clock. In fact, Star's team still had a three point lead. But that made no difference for her. She just kept walking, refusing to hear any other reasoning. Not even the guy running the place could stop her from stubbornly leaving with the injured boy.

* * *

After the game Star took him back to the hotel to have him see a doctor staffed by the place. The doctor properly diagnosed that Marco had a slightly sprained ankle, recommending bed rest for at least the rest of the day. So they returned to their room and got Marco laid up on the bed with his ankle bandaged, elevated, and ice-packed, and they spent the rest of the day just relaxing around their apartment. Although Marco was in high spirits, Star couldn't help but feel guilty over all of it.

So much so, that later that night, when Marco went to sleep, she got out of bed and grabbed one of the books that he had packed for them - titled "Medical Injuries For Stupid People - and began reading it at the kitchen table with the light on. It was a large, cumbersome book with no table of contents, which meant she would have to skimmer through the entire thing in the hopes of finding what she wanted to find. And she was determined to do so, even if it took the entire night.

At about 2 AM, Marco stirred around and opened his eyes, realizing that Star wasn't next to him. Peering out to the hallway and seeing a dim light on, he deduced he was in the kitchen. So he carefully got out of bed and slowly walked towards the light, careful not to re-injure his ankle. He found Star sitting at the table, disheveled and exhausted, but still flipping through. Finally she hit on a section of the book she was looking for.

"Finally! Sprains!" She whisper-shouted to herself, only to then find her book being closed by Marco and her chair being pulled out. He didn't hesitate to pick her up and start carrying her back to bed. "MARCO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I HAD IT!" She whispered annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU EVEN UP? YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WALKING!" They got back to the bed where he tucked her in and then climbed back into his previous position, chuckling lovingly at her. "What!?"

"You are so cute when you're trying too hard." Was all he could say before kissing her sweetly on the cheek.

"Marco I _had_ it. I found it in that book, I-I was going to help you-"

"You heard the doctor. Just bed rest is enough. I'll be fine in a couple of days."

"I know what he said, but-"

"Besides I didn't really want a repeat of Monster Arm."

"I just I'm probably ov...wait, what?"

"I said I didn't want a repeat of Monster Arm."

Star blinked twice, clearly drawing a blank. "Okay maybe I'm just tired but you're gonna have to refresh my memory."

"Remember when you were first on Earth and you tried to heal my broken arm with magic and you-"

"-turned it into a tentacle instead." She joined him in finishing the sentence, suddenly remember. "Yeah, now I remember. But that's-"

"Don't you remember how you kept yourself up for like 2 days trying to fix it and drove yourself nuts. And then you fell asleep when it started attacking people?"

Star looked away embarrassed. "Well I do now. Yeah..."

"And that was just before Gustav dropped by for a visit and you were jealous of him and then you spent even longer up trying to expose him or something."

"...my sleep schedule was kind of screwed up for a couple weeks after that." She looked back at him with a slight smirk. "But I'm sure that week was fun for you though." She giggled.

"Yeah, watching my best friend flail around and drive herself into the ground is _always_ fun." Marco replied sarcastically.

"Well okay obviously not_ that_, I was talking about the...you know..."

It didn't take long for Marco to get what she was trying to say. "Oh for Pete's sake!" His face went totally red, and in a flash, he grabbed his pillow and awkwardly covered his crotch area. It didn't matter since Star instantly knew what that meant and laughed. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Well I told you I snore a little louder when I'm tired."

"It's more like a symphony of jackhammers."

"Talk about your personal heaven, huh?" She lovingly ribbed him before they shared an awkward but sincere laugh with each other followed by a passionate kiss. "I'm really sorry you got hurt today. Talk about a lousy way to end what was otherwise a really fun day."

"It's not your fault I got hurt. I'm the one that decided it was smart to jump from that height and not do a somersault. I have no one to blame but myself. But you're right, it _was_ fun."

"You were awesome out there. Heck you almost _won_ today. You probably would have too if I hadn't stormed us out of there in a huff."

"You kidding? Your team was winning when we left."

Her eyes widened and she started rubbing her left arm again in discomfort. "Maybe but I would've felt horrible knowing you getting hurt made that happen. But hey it _was_ a lot of fun before that happened, wasn't it?"

"Totally. I knew we'd school those guys. Nobody has anything on the dream team!"

"Hallelujah to that!" They high-fived each other and laughed again before plopping back on the bed. Marco took his pillow and put it back by his head, resting comfortably on it. "I hope this ankle sprain doesn't put a hamper on our vacay."

"It shouldn't. They said a couple of days should do it. Besides, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to kick back tomorrow and chill here. It'd be a lot of fun."

"Yeah, it would be."

"Wanna go swimming? This place has a pool out around the back."

Her eyes widened. "They do?"

"Yup! They also have a _hot tub_." He winked at her and smirked.

"Ooh, sounds sexy."

"It is if you want it to be." It was his turn to smirk at her. "And hey, you'll finally be able to break in that new swimsuit you bought, right?" He said with a blush.

She gasped in delight. "You're right! Okay, it's settled! Tomorrow, we go swimming!"

"I can't wait!"

They both snuggled against each other and tried their best to let the calm, soothing sensation of sleep overtake them again. At the very least they weren't going to have a repeat of Monster Arm with Star driving herself into the ground. It was at least a step forward. Star gently put her hand on Marco's rear - with Marco doing the same for Star - and they both closed their eyes and drifted back to sleep. Life for them wasn't easy, but it sure was good.

**End of Chapter 6! **

**Yep this one's a little bit shorter than the others but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. As always please read & review! :)**


	7. Hot Tub Hijinks

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Hot Tub Hijinks**

**Original Postdate: September 3, 2019**

* * *

**Day 5**

It was a brand new day. The sun was out shining brightly and the weather was perfect for a day in the pool. Star & Marco had plans to take advantage of the great weather. They each took a bathroom and changed from their regular clothes into their bathing suits. They were not going to let anything - especially Marco's sprained ankle - ruin what promised to be an amazing day. They both carefully stepped out of their respective bathrooms simultaneously, all dressed & ready for pool action. Marco was in his traditional red trunks, while Star was sporting the aqua-colored two piece suit she had previously shown off to him.

Both stood in their doorways for a moment, gazing at the other, radiating beauty & admiration for each other. "Those trunks have _never_ looked cuter on you." She finally said to break the ice.

"Thank you, honey." He sheepishly said with a blush. "But it's nothing compared to how that suit looks on you."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush." She slowly walked over to him and gave him a huge hug. "I've been dying to show this off for you."

"Today's going to be awesome. You ready?"

"Am I ever!" They locked arms and headed for the door, holding their towels and a duffel bad full of things they thought they would need, ready for their day at the pool. But before they got to the door, Marco had a revelation.

"Wait, Star! Your bandages!"

Star looked down at her arms & realized she was still bandaged. "What about them?"

"We can let them get wet. I've gotta take them off."

"But what if my wounds aren't healed yet?" This was a bit of a sticking point for Star. The bandages were a constant reminder of the damage she did, sure, but Marco was also correct. Wet bandages would not help her healing. It was a risk they needed to take.

"I'll re-wrap you up once we're done, but I'm sure they'll be okay. My mom did a great job of cleaning you up."

"She _is _a good nurse."

She stuck her arms out and allowed Marco to slowly take them and begin unwrapping the bandages. The scars she gave herself were still very visible, but the bleeding had long since stopped. Star shuddered having to look at the damage she had done to herself. "There...the bleeding's stopped. I think you should be okay."

"Promise you'll re-wrap my arms as soon as we're done?"

He raised an eyebrow. The scars were healing nicely albeit slowly and there was no bleeding. But it took no time for him to realize that her pain was more emotional than physical. She _despised_ looking at her scars. She _detested_ having a constant reminder of the fury she unleashed, the rage she kept locked up, the anger she has the potential to blast out at any time. She needed to keep her scars hidden until they were entirely gone. Hugging her, he nodded. "Sure." And with that, they went on their merry way to the pool.

* * *

The pool was massive in size _and _depth, big enough to fit about 200 people at once if it wanted to. Today, though, it was only partially filled with people. Only about dozen and a half or so people floundering around and enjoying the pool setting, which made it optimal for Marco & Star to get in maximum privacy and fun in as they wished. There was a diving board over by one of the far ends, which drew Star's immediate attention. "Are you seeing this?"

"You've never been on a diving board before?"

"No, never. I've seen a lot of them but I've never actually tried one before."

"There's a first time for everything. Go for it!"

"Alright!" She dropped her towel and made a break for the diving board, racing up the ladder quickly to get to the top. She took a moment to soak in the view from the top. Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. Everyone on the ground looked like little ants to her. She let out giggles looking at them. She caught Marco on the ground with his feet in the water, waving to her and blowing her a kiss. She blew one back, then readied herself for a dive.

She bent her knees, then leaped into the air, jumping on the diving board three times before finally leaping off and going into a diving pose. Freefalling...more freefalling...and then she hit the water.

_SPLASH_

Her pose was terrible, not even coming close to resembling a proper dive. Marco gasped in shock, but breathed a sigh of relief when Star quickly resurfaced. "I'm okay!" She shouted joyously. Marco, without prompting, broke out into applause. She hastily swam over to him as he dipped full body into the pool.

"Way to go, that was awesome!"

"You kidding? My form was terrible!"

"Yeah but you went for it. That counts for something!"

"You and your "small victories." They chuckled before sharing a brief kiss. "Why don't _you_ give it a shot?"

"M-me!?" He stammered. "N-No, I don't like to dive-"

"Come on Marco, _I_ did it, and I looked like a total fool! You've got this in the bag!" She then realized the red herring in Marco's sprained ankle. "Oh wait, never mind, that's probably a bad idea-"

"No, you know what? Why not? I can't back you in taking chances only to be a coward myself! I'm gonna do it!" He shouted triumphantly. He carefully exited the pool, paying extra attention to his sprain so he didn't worsen it; walking gingerly towards the diving board, he climbed up the ladder and made it to the top. He surveyed his surroundings and got his feel for the diving board. It wasn't slippery, which was a positive sign. His ankle wasn't overly bothering him, also a good sign. Nobody around the pool was paying any particular attention to him besides Star, another great sign.

"Be careful, Marco!" She shouted. "You got this!"

He smiled and waved at her. Her encouragement was all the motivation he needed; at the very least he would be comfortable in how big of a fool he was going to look like after this. He took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He began to lightly bounce on the diving board, preparing himself physically & mentally. Unfortunately for him, he stepped wrong and slipped on the board, falling onto his rear end and then plummeting to the pool. A failed dive. A humiliating spectacle for him.

Though he was not physically harmed, his ego was massively bruised. Though if you asked Star that wasn't the case, as she happily cheered for him despite the slip-up. She cheered for the boy the entire time he swam back over to her. "That was great, Marco!"

"Great!? I slipped on my bed and tumbled into the pool like an idiot!"

"Yeah, a _cute_ idiot." She flirted as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "I am _never_ going to get tired of this."

"Me neither." Out of the corner of their eye they caught a glimpse of a volleyball net being put up. "Hey check it out!"

"Is that a Volleyball net?"

"Yeah it is..." He turned back to her. "They called it that on Mewni too?"

"You know, not _everything_ on Mewni had a different name."

"Fair point." They took note of a couple swimming over to the volleyball net, presumably to play. "You wanna play?"

"Let's do it!"

So they swam over to the volleyball net and lobbied the couple to let them play a little 2 on 2. Though Star wasn't that well versed in the art of pool volleyball, she proved herself a fast learner and teaming with Marco, made themselves a formidable opponent. Of course, it _was_ a friendly game, so silly chaos was to be had. At several points Star missed the incoming ball and sloppily belly flopped on the water near Marco, creating large waves that soaked him in water and even hit the other couple. At other times, Marco found himself getting smacked in the face with the ball having mistimed his return serve or spike, which got both Star & the opposing couple to laugh out loud at him. But it was okay, he happily joined in the laughter too. The only thing bruised was his ego.

Once Star & Marco gave into the silliness & abandoned any pretense of competitive play, the entire game devolved into a silly game of splashing with each other. The other couple decided that they were done playing and swam off, leaving the two lovebirds to act like giddy children and splash each other into submission. There was much laughter and much joy, and it all culminated with Marco tackling Star and dragging them both underwater, where they pulled off a beautiful kiss with each other before coming back up for air. "I've never kissed anyone underwater before." She said flirtatiously.

"Me neither." He replied back. "I'm feeling a little..."

"Steamy?"

"I was gonna say bold, but that works too."

"Ooh, do go on..."

He looked off into one of the corners and saw the residential hot tub was vacant. "The hot tub's empty. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not." She leaned in for another kiss. "But I can't wait to find out."

They exited the pool and walked over with their towels to the gate leading into the hot tub. It was located just adjacent to the pool, right by the fence. The gate was closed, but not locked. "I wonder why nobody's using this thing. It looks and sounds soothing." The hot tub was bubbling like crazy.

"It's the perfect place for some hot kissing, don't you think?"

Star dipped one of her feet into the hot tub and a look of enlightenment crossed her face. "Ohhhh yeah..." They hung up their towels and dipped into the hot tub. To say that it was relaxing was an understatement. It was like a liquid heaven for these two. "That hits the spot...I could totally nap in here if I wanted to..." She turned her head to him and smiled. "But I'd rather do some kissin'."

"Message received, Butterfly."

So they began locking lips. Away from the attention of everyone else near the pool and with a hot tub all to themselves, their physical contact had never been hotter. For Star, the hot tub was everything Marco said that it would be. At least at first...

But after what felt like an eternity, something happened. Marco was pushed up against one of the walls of the hot tub, one that had the filter built in, the one that was sucking up dirt from the pool. Unfortunately for him, the sucking was far too strong, and as a result...his swim trunks were sucked right off of his body. Unbeknownst to him of course since he was so enraptured with making out with Star. Not even Star noticed, _she_ was too deep into the kiss as well. They switched positions leaving Star leaning up against the wall next. Sadly, just like Marco, _she_ too met the same fate, having her swim trunks sucked by the filter right from under her nose.

By the time they finally broke from their kiss, they had been trunkless for several minutes. Hoo boy were they in for a surprise. "You know, I never told you this but you're a _really great_ kisser." Star said to the boy. "Gentle but _just_ assertive enough to give me a good time."

"Thank you..." He said with a blush. "I've...had a lot of practice."

"It's paid off. Say, would you mind getting that tiny pool umbrella from the duffel bag? I wanna give us even _more_ privacy. Let's say I'm feeling...a little more _risky_ than normal."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm game." He said slyly. He made his way towards the wall and proceeded to lift himself out of the hot tub, which is exactly when Star learned of Marco's fate for the first time. She shrieked and covered her mouth.

"MARCO!" She yelled. He stopped just as he was all the way out and didn't move his position. "Where are your swim trunks!?"

"My swim..." He looked down at his lower half and it was only now that he realized something was wrong, as his bare back and rear end was turned to Star. And it was...qite the view. Star was bright red, constantly going back and forth between covering her eyes and looking. He screamed and immediately jumped back into the pool. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SWIM TRUNKS!?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW!?"

Marco dunked his face into the water and tried to look for them but to no avail. They were gone. His heart sank. "Oh no...oh no oh no oh no...why!?"

Star uncovered her eyes and started brainstorming. "Okay, okay don't panic. We can work around this. Here, let _me_ go get that umbrella." She raced for the wall and too got out of the pool, only for Marco to have the same experience as Star just had.

"Star!" Only this time, unlike him, she paid no mind to him calling out and kept focus on the duffel bag. She knelled down and began rummaging through it, which left her bare back and rear end turned to Marco, just like before. Like her, Marco too bounced back and forth between keeping his eyes covered and looking. His face was bright red. Meanwhile Star grew increasingly frustrated as, contrary to her belief, she not only couldn't' find the pool umbrella she mentioned, but she couldn't even find a spare pair of swim trunks. "STAR!"

"What!?" She shouted, though still not turning around. "I can't find that stupid umbrella, I coulda sworn I packed it! And we don't have a spare set of trunks for you."

"...you mean for _you_."

"Me? Why would I need them? I still have my-" She felt her hip in an attempt to prove her point. Unfortunately now _she_ got a taste of what was happening. Her swim trunks had also become victims to the massively-sucking filter. Her eyes slowly darted down towards her lower body, and it was only now that she realized her trunks were gone. Like with Marco previously, this was quite the view. Marco's face was redder than ever. In a panic, she screamed & raced back to the hot tub, dunking herself in. Now they had an even bigger problem. The main pool area had begun to fill up with hotel guests, making it harder for them to simply leave it without being noticed. Marco hugged Star, trying to console the panicking girl. "What are we going to do?"

"We gotta get back to our room."

"I didn't even think to grab our towels. Oh man..." Star looked over at the crowd forming by the pool. "We can't just leave like this, we'll totally attract everyone's attention."

"What if we distract them somehow?" Marco suggested. "We could create a diversion to draw their attention to, then get our towels and head back to our room."

"Ooh, that's a good idea. But how are we going to do that?"

As if by sheer coincidence, Marco spotted a bigger than normal rock that was sitting by their pool. "There!" He swam over to get the rock. "If I can throw this rock past the pool maybe they'll all drop what they're doing and look in that direction. That should buy us enough time to scurry out and towel ourselves up."

"I like the way you think, Diaz!" She stepped back and waited patiently for Marco to do the deed. Unfortunately for Marco, he realized that the rock was too heavy for him; there was no plausible way he'd be able to both conceal his body in the water _and_ generate enough torque to throw it the way he needed to. "Marco, what's wrong?"

"This rock is too heavy. I can't keep my body submerged _and_ get enough behind the throw."

"Hmm..." She snapped her fingers with an idea. "I got it! I'll cover you so that nobody sees you!"

"But what about you?"

"Marco, they're not going to accuse a dainty little girl like me of throwing a big rock like that. They'll just think it came out of nowhere."

The logical route she took to draw that conclusion confounded him. "And...how do you know that exactly?"

She stood silently for a moment, then shrugged. She then turned around - so her back was once again facing him - and firmly stood up, ready to commence the plan. "Okay Marco, you throw then rock, then race to get our towels. Go!"

"WAIT STAR!" He shouted. "THERE'S A FATAL FLAW IN THIS PLAN!" He covered his mouth with the rock and tried his hardest to conceal his rising blush. It was not working.

She gasped. "You're right!" Unfortunately her answer was not what he hoped for. "Your ankle. Okay, change of plan, you throw the rock, then _I'll_ go get the towels. NOW MARCO GO!"

The boy remained utterly frozen in his spot for a good minute, his gaze fixated exactly where it shouldn't have been. Finally he snapped himself out of it, stood up tall; he gathered up all the strength he had and fired the rock towards the pool. As per their plan, the rock soared over the entire pool and hit the fence on the other side. It drew the attention of literally everyone around the area and got them all looking away from the hot tub. "IT WORKED!" Marco yelled.

Star raced out of the pool and grabbed hers and Marco's towel, helping him out of the pool and covering him with it. Once they were covered they grabbed all their belongings and raced out of the area, heading back to the hotel.

* * *

After they complained to the front desk about what happened, they were offered complimentary white robes for their troubles - as well as coupons to the in-house riff movie theater - which they took back to their hotel room. After showering, they decked themselves back in their robes and decided to hang around the room for a while. They remained almost completely silent for much of that time. Conflicting feelings of embarrassment, shame, pride, and confusion raced through their heads. What should they say about what happened? What could they say? What did they feel?

All of that and so much more coursed through their minds as they tried desperately to gather up the courage to talk. Finally, by mid-afternoon, after what seemed like hours not speaking, they met up in their bedroom. Both could barely look the other in the eye. "Hey." Marco spoke up.

"Hi..."

"Do you...wanna talk?"

She took a deep breath. "Not really, but...guess we can't avoid it forever, can we?"

They both took a seat next to each other on the bed. Their faces once again went red. This was not going to be easy to talk about, but hopefully like all the other times before, they would come out far better for doing it. "I'm so sorry about the hot tub."

"What are you sorry for? It's not _your_ fault this place decided not to have a working hot tub."

He rubbed his arm in discomfort and looked away. "I guess, but still..."

"I'm just amazed it was even _able_ to do that, you know? And to have it happen to _both_ of us, I just..."

"I know. I..." He finally looked up at her. "I just hope I didn't embarrass you."

Her head snapped in his direction. "Embarrass _me_? Stop talking silly, you didn't embarrass me." She smiled.

"You're not just saying that?"

She nodded. "Promise. I had a really fun time in that hot tub until..._you know what_ happened."

He rested his head on his shoulder as she patted his hair. "Me too."

"And..." Her blush grew; it was her turn to look away from him.

"What?"

"Don't be mad, but...I liked what I saw." She refused to look back at him, afraid of what response she would get from him. Truthfully Marco had no idea _how_ he should response to it. Star was coming from an awkward place with today's events but clearly there was no ill-intent with any of this. They were both in the same boat, trying to figure out what they were going though, trying to figure out their feelings for each other. It was one thing when the feelings were purely emotional. But now that things were developing physically for them as well, it added an entirely new layer of awkward for them. Even with that in mind, they both still knew that neither had any desire to hurt the other or make things purposely uncomfortable for them. They were in this together, and nothing would change that.

"You...you mean..." He asked. She nodded; he blushed. "Wow. I don't know what to say."

"And I thought your tush was cute before, but now..." She chuckled, still blushing. "Now I think it's _hot_."

"Well you _would_ know about that, wouldn't you?" He chuckled exactly once before covering his mouth, visibly ashamed at what just came out of his mouth. Star giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Hey" She giggled again. "...you don't have to be like that." She slowly took his hands and lowered them from his mouth. "Really, you don't."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by-" His unnecessary apology was interrupted by her kissing his lips softly and wrapping him in a tight hug. Every time they kissed it was as if the world's stresses literally melted off of their skins. When she pulled away, she smiled warmly at him again.

"Marco...please be honest with me: did you like what you saw?"

His eyes widened. He knew how he _wanted_ to answer but wasn't sure if it was how he _should_ answer. Sure he heard Star say she wouldn't judge him no matter what his answer was, but that didn't exactly make him feel better about it. He took a deep breath, turning to her. He slowly nodded his head a few times; Star's face lit up and her face went bright red again. She was humbled. Flattered. Amazed. "I don't think "like" does it any justice, to be honest. "Love" doesn't even do it justice. Heck I...me saying I think it's _hot_ would still be a major understatement."

She kissed him again, completely floored but flattered at what she was hearing. "Diaz, you dog...well next time maybe you should take a picture, it'll last longer."

He chuckled... "Yeah..." before realizing what she said and trying to cover for himself. "Wait, no no no no no. That's not a good idea. Bad idea."

"Why, is that...wait, is that a _you_ thing or an _Earth_ thing?"

"...Earth."

"Oh okay." She looked away again, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"That's alright, it's...sweet that y-you'd be okay with that."

"Give me a little credit here." They again embraced. "I know this is all new and weird to both of us, but...I know you. You're not one of those guys that's just about the superficial and not just about looks and stuff. You're a full-on sweetheart. That's why I don't mind that...all of this is happening. I want to go through this with you. I _trust_ you."

"And you don't think that trust is misplaced?"

"Marco, be real. If what happened today _didn't _happen would you have asked for that from me?"

He scratched his ear and remained silent for a moment. "No...probably not. Would you have?"

"I don't think so. A-And even if I did, you probably would've said 'no,' not that I would blame you."

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Yeah...probably." After that came a long period of silence from the two of them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence like what had preceded, but you could still cut the tension in the air with a knife. "Hey, do you...do you want to just pretend today didn't happen?" Her jaw slightly dropped at the question. "We can just act like the hot tub didn't happen and just go on tomorrow like it's a new day. I-It'd be okay with me if-"

But she quickly shook her head, silencing his plight. "I don't want to do that."

"...really?"

"Look, bad circumstances aside...I'm glad this happened."

Safe to say that wasn't the response Marco was expecting. "You are? Really?"

"I mean it too. Look...let's stop beating around the bush, okay? We _both_ find the other incredibly attractive physically. I think your abs and your tush are sexy and adorable, plus just looking at your beautiful smile makes my heart melt." Her words got him to blush and smile again. He was not prepared for this but damn if he was going to interrupt her. "You love my gold flowing hair & my fluffy but kissable face, you think my log-sawing and nighttime drool-making are sexy as all get out, _and_ you think my big bubble butt is the hottest thing since the sun, among a host of other things you're probably crazy about me for!"

"_Why did you have to phrase it like **that**!?"_ He loudly whispered.

"Show me the lie, Diaz. Show. Me. The. Lie!" She playfully hissed. "My point is, why should we keep dancing around this? I don't see _anything_ wrong with it since we're _both_ in on it, so why don't we just embrace all of these feelings and go with them? You know, see where it takes us. I love you, Marco. And I _want_ you."

Marco stammered silently for a moment. He was visibly sweating, but a smile managed to creep onto his face. "Y-You literally took the words out of my mouth." He loudly breathed a sigh of relief. "You...you're just breathtaking."

"Likewise."

"I just need to get out of my own way. I keep worrying "Hey what if I'd be crossing a line with her and I'd make her really uncomfortable" or something."

"No I understand that. It'd be one thing if this was all one-sided, but it's clearly not. And I trust you _completely._"

"You do?"

"Mm-hmm. And I'll never leave you guessing as to how I feel about something. If...if something we do bothers me and I realize I don't want it, I'll be the first to tell you. I'll never let you squirm around wondering if you dropped the ball or something."

"Thanks. That goes double for me. I don't want to hurt you, and if there's an issue with what we're doing I won't hesitate to tell you. I love you, and I want to make you happy."

"You're doing a fantastic job with that already." She leaned in to kiss him again. "So...question."

"Shoot."

"Do you...want to see it again?"

His face went red again as he unconsciously looked away slightly embarrassed, before looking back at her. "Honestly?" She nodded, urging him to be honest. "...I do." She smiled at him and caressed his hair. "A lot. But not like right now! I-I don't want to push it."

"I understand. If it means anything...I wanna see yours again too. Hopefully some day we'll be comfortable enough to do that willingly."

"I hope it's not too long of a wait." They kissed softly and shared a loving hug and laugh.

"...are we okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we're okay. Although...I kinda could go for some kissing right about now."

"Why didn't you just say so?" She gently grabbed his bathroom and pulled him down with her onto the bed so they were both lying on their sides, facing each other, as close as they could physically get. They giggled and stared at each other for the longest time before beginning to kiss. To say it was full of passionate was an understatement. It wasn't aggressive, it wasn't hard, and it wasn't forced. They let the kiss do the guiding. It was getting easier for them to let themselves get lost in the heat of the moment. They trusted each other with their lives. They trusted each other with their hearts. Now, their lips & their souls did the talking.

At one point they pulled away and again stared through each other's eyes, smiling. Marco unconsciously shifted the position of his hands on Star's waist, which got her attention. She looked down at his hand, then at him. She nodded softly, as if giving him permission. He smiled and slowly began to lower his hand towards her rear, but when she realized his hand was on top of her robe, she started shaking her head no, which confused him. "W-What? I thought you said-"

"If you're going to do it...I want you to do it right."

"What does that mean?"

"Well..." She looked down at the sheets and blushed, but a huge smile came onto her face. "I'm not wearing anything else under this robe."

His eyes widened. "You're not?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "Is that a problem for you?"

He smiled back. "No, it's not...as long as it's not a problem for _you_."

Now it was her with the wide eyes. But that quickly gave way for more smiles. Slowly, Marco's hand moved towards the edge of the robe, going gently underneath it and finding her rear end again. There was nothing in the way. It was all tush. It felt...a little different from before. It felt pure, it felt real. He began gently squeezing it which got a quiet squeal from her. She followed suit as they locked into another passionate kiss, this one seemingly never-ending. They got lost in the lust, the passion. It was like they weren't even on the bed, like they were floating in the air. True remnants of magic.

Time didn't seem to exist for them. The moment was endless. Even more majestic as the sun outside set and the moon rose, christening their bedroom with beautiful evening light. When they finally parted, it was as if their bodies stopped floating & touched ground again. The high still hadn't worn off. "You still tingly?" She asked him. He nodded proudly. "Me too."

"I could do this all night."

"What's stopping us?"

Still wrapped in their bathrobes and consumed with their love for each other, they resumed kissing. If you didn't know better you'd think they were going for the world record for longest kiss for a couple. If you asked them, that would just be a consolation prize. The real prize? They already had it. They had each other. They had the strongest bond they could ever ask for, both physically and emotionally. It was like it was ensnared with a death grip, and they would never let it go.

**End of Chapter 7!**

**It's definitely hard to straddle the line between wanting to write them more maturely & not having to bump this story up to an M. Honestly this one was really fun to write, at least in terms of their relationship. It's funny how you can always tell the parts you get stuck on because you just want to get to the parts you _really_ want to write. In any case I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Keep in mind this story is a follow-up to my most recent work "When Dimensions Cleave," you don't _need_ to read that one to jump into this one but I sincerely hope you give it a look.**

**As always, please remember to read & review! :)**


	8. Nocturnal Nuance

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Nocturnal Nuance**

**Original Postdate: September 6, 2019**

* * *

Their kissing session lasted for longer than either of them had anticipated, but to them, it was worth every second of it. At some point they had decided they were ready to turn in for the night and fell asleep where they were lying. For Star, it came easily. For Marco...not so much.

He laid there on the bed, staring at Star. His mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. He was unable to fall back asleep, and it wasn't because Star was loudly revving up the chainsaws literally inches from him. No, normally her snoring like this would have the exact opposite effect on him, for reasons that still confounded him though he had long since stopped questioning it. Tonight, however, nothing was helping him get back to sleep. He did the only thing he felt compelled to do: he scooched closer to the sleeping girl and quietly kissed her forehead, carefully wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but something about doing that tonight felt right to him. He didn't expect she would feel the same way but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

He stayed hugging her for the longest time while she slumbered on. She was a bit of a heavy sleeper, which he found to be adorable. He gently ran his hand through her hair, smiling warmly. No matter what mood he was in, being with her and holding her always managed to cheer him up. Her slumber didn't last, however. She finally began stirring around and opened her eyes halfway, her vision immediately picked up on the boy holding her in his arms. "M-Marco?"

He pulled back slightly. "I'm sorry, d-did I wake you?"

She shook her head lightly and smiled at him. He was always such a gentleman to her, even when he was being awkward. "Sure, but waking up to my best friend hugging me isn't so bad." She lightly pecked his lips. "You okay?"

"I guess...I can't sleep."

"I'm sorry. I hope the chainsaws haven't been too loud tonight."

"Oh don't be silly, they could never be loud enough for me."

"I _seriously_ need to start charging you admission." She giggled. "But then, what's wrong?"

He pulled away even more and laid back on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Just...got a lot on my mind I suppose..."

"Is this about what happened today? I thought we were okay on-"

"Oh no no, it's not that at all. It's...other things." He sighed. She joined him lying down next to him, head nuzzled against his shoulder and arms wrapped around his torso.

"You wanna talk about it?" Unconsciously he grabbed the hand that was resting on his chest and caressed it, taking special attention to the bandages. His gaze went towards said bandages. Suddenly the memory of her bashing that mirror and shattering her arms & hands played through his head again. It didn't take much for Star to notice that something was off. Carefully he fit his hand into hers and kissed the back of it. "Marco?"

He looked back at her and then let go of the hand. "Give me a sec." He got out of bed and went towards the closet, leaving her to her thoughts. He rummaged through everything before finding what he was looking for and coming back to the bed. In his hands he held a small stack of photos. He climbed back in and scooched close to her so that they were right up against each other. She sat up and looked at the photos he handed to her one by one. They were of him as a little boy with a man who looked a lot like his father Rafael, only it wasn't.

"oh my gosh you were the cutest widdle boy." She gushed at the baby Marco. "I wanna give this widdle angel all the hugs and kisses." He loved when she gushed about him, even if it was just about the silly things. "Wow, you dad looks...really slim here."

It only now occurred to him that she didn't know anything about this. "That's...not my dad."

She studied the picture again. "It looks like him, though..." She scanned through the other pictures. They were of a similar vein - little boy Marco doing fun things with the man who looked like his dad but wasn't.

"My dad had a brother - my uncle Giovanni. He was one of sweetest, most loving uncles you could ask for. You would've loved him. He did everything with me when I was a kid. He took me to amusement parks, movies, candy store...my parents had to work a lot when I was younger so he always stepped in to take care of me. He was like a second dad."

"Aww..."

"He even took me to and from school. Heck, when my third grade class had career day _he_ was the one that stepped in for my folks since they had to work. He was an exterminator. It wasn't a flashy career but he was so proud of it, and I couldn't help but be proud of him for that."

"That's so sweet. Have I...have I ever met him before?" He shot back up at her and shook his head fiercely. "Oh...do you think I _could_?"

He put his head down again. It was coming. "He's...not around anymore."

Her face fell; it was legitimately a response she was not prepared for. "Oh, I-I see. Did he...move or-"

"He passed. About seven years ago. Seven years _last week_, actually."

Her mind suddenly started to spiral. _Last week_. Something about it piqued her brain but she hadn't quite pinned it down. "I'm so sorry. H-How did it happen?" This time, Marco said nothing. It was the question he was expecting but not prepared for. How do you prepare for something like that? Especially when it's not under friendly circumstances. "It's okay, you don't have to-" Instinctively he softly grabbed her arm and looked at her, and without any further thought, kissed her. It was exactly what he needed to gather the motivation to spill his guts.

"...my uncle...my uncle committed suicide."

Her eyes went huge and her skin paled. "He did what!?" She shouted before covering her mouth. Tears started forming in Marco's eyes. "W-H-I don't...I don't understand."

Marco could barely look at her. "I didn't learn any of this until years after the fact but...my uncle suffered from depression. Apparently he was diagnosed while he was taking care of me."

"Depression? You mean Earth treats depression like it's something serious and not just like some "oh you're in a bad mood, go outside and you'll get over it?"

"Oh don't get it mixed up, we still have that kind of attitude in a lot of people on Earth, but..." Now he looked at her and visible pain on her face. "Is that what _you_ went through?"

"I'm not sure. From a young age I was taught that the kingdom always came first. _Always_. We really weren't allowed personal problems per say, so anytime me or my family were going through something personal we had to swallow it & hide it. It wasn't very fun. And I don't think I was the only one that went though it either. B-But don't let me make this about me-"

"Star..." He hugged her again. "It's okay."

She smiled warmly. "Sorry. So, did he ever try to get help for it or something?"

"From what we found out, he had been seeing a therapist for years."

"That's good. At least that means he didn't just give up easily, right...?"

He darted his eyes around. Poor Star and her well-intended misunderstandings. "It's not as simple as _giving up_."

"You know what I meant."

"No I know." He sighed, looking away. "Whatever he was going through...he hid it really well. My parents told me they never suspected anything was wrong, and he never wanted to talk about any bad stuff. At least at first."

"What happened?"

"I remember...near the end he started to act really strange. Like, stranger than normal."

"How so?"

"He'd always apologize for the smallest of things, he stopped enjoying a lot of things he used to enjoy, like fishing a-and pottery, he was never able to accept any praise or compliments from anyone...it was really sad. I didn't really understand what was going on at the time, I was so young..."

Star had to take a moment to think to herself before speaking again. _Apologizing for everything? Couldn't accept praise? _It was like listening to a playback of her own experience. It mirrored her almost exactly. For some time now, she was in the same boat: feeling the need to apologize for every small infraction, no matter how small or imaginary it actually was. Feeling unwilling to accept praise or compliments of any kind? It didn't sound like a fun way to go through life. And from the sounds of it, she'd only been going through it for a fraction of the time Marco's uncle had suffered through it. Was this the path she was on? Was she destined to follow in his footsteps?

What if she already did? What if she just got lucky & survived?

"Marco..." Her voice cracked. "...how did it happen?"

"What-"

"How did he die?" She _had_ to know.

It was the one question Marco felt he couldn't answer. It was excruciating. It was skin crawling. His discomfort was obvious to her. She immediately picked up on it, too. She suspected she knew why but she wanted him to tell her himself. For Marco, it would be like reopened a long-healed wound. It would be like bleeding out after he had stitched himself back up. Could he do it? Could he afford _not_ to? He sturdied himself on the bed, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked her square in the eye. He hugged her first and gave her a kiss before finally speaking again.

"He...he bashed a mirror."

Yup. That was exactly what she feared. Now it was almost identical to her ordeal. Except she was still alive. He wasn't.

"F-First he used his fists...th-then his legs...then finally, he rammed his head into it."

Star felt her heart shatter a thousand times over as he continued. Tears started to form in her eyes. "I...I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Not many people know about it. W-We keep it in the family."

Star's gaze ventured down towards her bandages. What was a constant reminder of the physical & emotional torment still plaguing her now also served as a reminder of what might have been. "W-Were you there...you know, w-when it happened?"

He shook his head lightly. "No, but my parents were. I-I was in school. They had a day off and were house cleaning, a-and I guess he got into their room by himself, and..." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, the force of it causing them both to fall over on the bed. Nothing but silence followed. Neither could even comprehend what words to say. Somehow she managed to conjure something up.

"Marco..." She said through her tears. "Y-You know w-when I...I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"I know." He said softly back to her.

"I don't think I'd ever have the guts to do it anyway. I-I was just...I let my rage win and I lashed out...I can't even fathom what he must've been thinking...to do that to himself...I can't even fathom what you thought when it happened...or what you thought when I..."

"It was like Deja vu. I was so afraid I was going to lose you."

"I didn't mean to hurt you like that." She sniffed. "I'm so sorry..."

"I know you didn't..." He pulled away slightly from the hug and gave her another kiss. "It's pretty obvious you and m-maybe your family...you have a lot of issues you need to work through."

"I agree. I-It's not fun feeling this way. A-and I don't want to hurt myself, o-or you or anyone else."

"I know you don't. But the thing is, not everyone who suffers from depression has suicidal thoughts. Depression can cripple you in so many different ways..."

"You mean like never feeling good enough, never feeling worthy of praise because you think it's fake, wishing you could just disappear, and hating yourself to the point where your own reflection disgusts you?"

He quietly nodded, caressing her hair. "Pretty much. And even that's just a fraction of what it's capable of. And that's just _one_ of the many mental illnesses that exist only to torment innocent people."

"Oh gosh that's horrible!"

"Uh-huh." Another brief period of silence passed. So many thoughts raced through the girl's mind. How much hell had she actually put Marco through when she busted her mirror? How lucky was she that she was sitting here alive today when it could've turned out so much worse? Why did she suddenly feel like she deserved to be punished for making Marco and all of her friends & loved ones worry about her? More tears streamed down her face, piquing Marco's attention. "What are you thinking about?"

She sighed. "I just...I just hate everything about this." She admitted. "Here I am now thinking '_Star you idiot, can't you see what you put your boyfriend and your friends & family? How can you live with yourself? You deserve to be punished for this! _Ugh, why is my brain _**doing this**__!?" _She buried her face into her pillow and groaned. Marco laid down next to her and hugged her. She took her face out and gazed at him with a smile. "I'm really sorry about your uncle. I'm sure he was a wonderful man."

"He would've loved you for sure."

She blushed and looked away embarrassed. They embraced each other for another hug & kiss. "I can't imagine how hard it was for you to...relive this..."

"I'm just glad this time I got a different result."

She nodded. "Y-You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

"No, of course I know. But...that doesn't make it any easier to live with."

She leaned in and hugged him again. She couldn't figure out why but the knowledge that Marco had gone through this once before and this time ended up lucky...it calmed her nerves significantly. "I-I guess we better go back to sleep...?" Deep down, she wanted to keep confronting her demons. But she continued wrestling with the thought that she was being a bother to him and wasting his time. He put a hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"Do you want to? Or do you just think you're being a bother again?"

She closed her eyes to try and hold back tears. It was one thing when her enemies had physical forms she could just fight off. But when that enemy is entirely in your own head? It's a new layer of hell she didn't realize existed. "I guess I'm so used to stuffing everything down for the good of everything around me...it's hard to be honest about this stuff. I-It's hard to accept just...just how much I hate myself. Here I am with the more wonderful guy in the world who I'm incredibly lucky to have, with the greatest friends & family that a girl could ask for...and yet I just don't feel like I deserve any of it."

He hugged her again, kissing her cheek in the process. "That's the demons talking. Do you think this might be why you don't like to be the center of attention at parties? O-Or why you think you're not worthy of the throne?"

She gave that question a long moment of thought. "Maybe...I mean, Mom wanted me to be a proper princess so badly so I'd be ready when I became queen, a-and I didn't want to disappoint her. But then that whole conspiracy got exposed...and then I guess I decided it was on me to clean up the whole mess."

"It shouldn't have been, though." Marco argued. "It wasn't _you_ that swapped Eclipsa's daughter for a peasant girl. It was the Magic High Commission. _They_ were the ones that screwed everything up because of their hatred of monsters. Heck, I don't even think they were ever _punished_ for that."

"I know, you're right. B-But I didn't trust that they'd even do anything. That's why I turned the throne back to Eclipsa when I was acting queen...and why I wanted to stay and help her as much as I could for as long as I could. But then I started to neglect myself a-and you and Tom, and-"

Her self-loathing was interrupted by him kissing her passionately. She wasted no time in joining in; for at least that brief moment, the demons shied away, even if the tears didn't. "You did the best that you could. With Eclipsa, with Tom, and with me. We all know that. None of us are mad at you."

"_**I **_am!" She growled. "Look I still stand by what I said - I don't want the throne and I'll never be worthy of it - but I think I finally understand why it bothered my Mom so much...she put so much time and energy into making sure I'd be the best queen for Mewni that I could be, only to find out that her only daughter would never ascend to it. It must've been heartbreaking..." The tears started coming back full force. "Oh gosh I broke my mother's heart..."

"You heard her though: she understands why you did it and she isn't mad at you for it. Come on, Star. The only person mad at you for all of this is **_you!_** You're so hard on yourself...I don't want you to punish yourself again..."

"Then why do I feel like I deserve tp?"

Marco took a deep breath and leaned in to hug & kiss her again. "Because that's what the depression _wants_ you to think."

More silence from the girl for a while. They just laid there on the bed, either staring at each other or hugging. "People that live with this every day...they have to be some of the strongest people in the world, aren't they?"

"Sure sounds like it, right?" They chuckled together lightly, trying not to wake their neighbors. "I'm sorry I sprung this up on you like this. I didn't mean to keep you up-"

"It's okay. Really. Thank you for sharing this with me." She smiled warmly. "I'm sure it wasn't easy, a-and I'm sorry that _me_ being a self-destructive idiot caused those memories to resurface."

"Hey hey hey, don't talk like that. None of this makes you any less of a person, or any less worthy of love. You gotta learn to cut yourself a break again, because you deserve it."

"I know, I just...I can't."

"Yes you can. And I'll help you get there."

"I don't deserve you, Marco."

"Yes you do." He kissed her again. "_Yes you do._ You know what you also deserve?"

"Let me guess: to be showered with gifts and praise and love for being such a good girl and trying so hard to make everyone happy?"

"_Now_ you're getting it."

She sighed. "Believe me, I _agree_ with you. I wish I could just...I wish I could go back to when someone would say I did good or gave me a gift or just hugged me and I didn't feel like I wanted to bury myself in the ground because I thought it was misplaced or even fake."

"Well...there's no time like the present, right? You can start by opening up those gifts from your thank-you party."

She gasped loudly and sat up. "Oh my gosh! That's right, I never opened those gifts! I-I was so caught up in giving everyone else gifts a-and then the promise rings, a-"

"It's okay! I brought them all along with us in case you had a change of heart. They're in the closet."

"You thought of _everything_, didn't you? Okay then, you're on. First thing in the morning we'll open up those bad boys."

"Why should we wait for the morning?" He smiled and proceeded to slowly get out of bed. "We're up, aren't we?"

"Are you sure?"

"How badly do you want to see what everyone got you?"

She pondered the thought for a moment before realizing: yeah she wanted this _now_. "Okay, let's do it!" She took got out of bed and followed Marco to their closet. He pulled up a giant garbage bag that was filled with the presents their family & friends got for Star for her thank-you party. At the time, nobody realized that she had never opened any of them. It wasn't intentional or spiteful either, she merely got caught up in everything happening around her and sincerely forgot about it. Marco promised them all he'd get her to open the gifts while they were on their getaway. Now he was holding up his end.

He pulled out a small box first. "Alright, this here's from..._Tom_."

"Ooh, yay Tom!" She clapped her hands and sat down on the floor. He handed her the box as she began to slowly open it. Inside was a pair of bright blue hoop earrings. She gasped in delight. "These are beautiful! They match my eyes! I can't wait to try these on!"

Marco grabbed another box, this one much bigger & more jingly. "Okay, next...ooh this one's from your parents."

"Alright! Mom and Dad!" She started to open the box; inside was a shiny new gold, glittery, only slightly poofy dress and a giant platinum sword. Presumably the dress was her mother's gift and the sword was her father's (it was not, but she wouldn't know that until later). "Oh my gosh! Marco, look at this! Look look look!" She held up the dress and then the sword separately.

"Do your folks know you or what?"

"I can't believe it!" She blubbered. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"You were the best princess they could ever ask for, that's what." He said with a straight face. She rolled her eyes with a smile. He grabbed another box. "Next up we have..._Janna!_"

"Janna Banana!" Janna's gift to Star was a giant blanket that looked like a burrito. She gasped loudly. "IT'S A BLANKET BUT IT LOOKS LIKE A BURRITO! MARCO DO YOU SEE THIS!?"

"I see it." He chuckled. Star slowly began to lift the blanket towards her mouth. "No Star that blanket is _not_ edible."

She lowered it again, disappointed. "Aww..."

"Next..._my_ parents!"

"HOORAY FOR MOMMY AND DADDY DIAZ!" Their gift to her consisted of a cookbook filled with hundreds of recipes - including some Mexican-laden dishes - an apron, a kitchen timer, and some essential kitchen utensils. "They remembered!" She squealed. "I'm gonna be a cook!"

"You sure are." He said proudly, grabbing another box. "Ooh, here's one from Eclipsa & Globgor."

"Alright, bring on grandma & grandpa Butterfly!" Their gift to her was a copy of a manuscript - or at least part of a manuscript - written by Eclipsa on the value of self-worth - along with a note from her asking her to read it & tell her what she thought - a tiny model house made by Globgor as a preview of the work he intended to do, and also a cute drawing by Meteora depicting Star playing with her.

"What'd you get?"

"I think Eclipsa wrote a book..." She said taking out the huge stack of loose papers help together only by some staples. "Or at least started writing one. Huh..."

"That was fast."

"I also got this cute little miniature house from Globgor." She held it up for him to see.

"That's so cute."

"You wanna see cute?" She then held up the drawing from Meteora. "Ta-da. I think _this_ is from baby Meteora."

Both she _and_ Marco fawned over its cuteness. "It's adorable!"

"Isn't it!?"

He reached for another box. "Alrighty, up next is..._Jackie!_" It was a long box, usually one that specifically held clothes.

Star tore through the wrapping paper and opened the box up. Inside was a pair of crisp new blue jeans. "Whoooaaa...are these...?"

"Those are blue jeans."

"Cooooool. Are they like the cute skinny jeans _you_ wear?"

"Sorta. I wonder if they fit." She shot a sly look his way and purred flirtatiously. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No I know, but come on, I have seen other gals wearing jeans like this in the past. They can _really_ make some people look mighty _fine_."

"Like Jackie?"

"Oh definitely like Jackie." Again she purred flirtatiously. "Remind me to try these on tomorrow for you."

"You don't have to show yourself off _every time_ to me, you know."

"I don't _have_ to do anything for you."

They both shared a laugh. "True." Marco reached into a bag and rummaged for another box. "Huh...looks like there's two left."

"Why'd you say that weird?"

"I coulda sworn I was the last one..." He pulled out one of the remaining boxes; it was another small one. "Oh wait, you got one from Buff Frog."

"Awww, that's so sweet. Huh, I thought he wasn't at the party."

"He wasn't, I guess he sent his gift ahead of time. I didn't even realize when I was packing all the gifts together." He handed the box to Star, who tore through the paper and opened it, revealing a signed "Cornball" game ball as well as a letter attached. Star read the letter aloud.

"_Dearest Star, is Buff Frog and children. Sorry we missed your party. Little Katrina just finished her first game of Little League Cornball. She was most admirable competitor. After game she and team chose to sign game ball and give to you as present. As thank you for all you did for monster kind. I am sorry you will never become queen, but you will always be queen to us. Hope you are having fun on trip with Earth Boy, give him my regards. Hugs and cheers, Buff Frog."_

The letter made Star tear up again, tears of joy falling from her eyes. "That's beautiful!"

"You see, it's not just us. Even the monsters were pulling for you."

She wiped a tear away and looked at him. "I can't wait to give him a hug when we get back home."

"I know." He reached into the bag and pulled out the last box. "And last but not least...me."

She carefully took the box. Carefully she unwrapped it and pulled out a long piece of paper that was rolled up tight. "What's this?" She slowly unrolled it, revealing itself to be a poster of her, Marco, Tom, Jackie, Janna, and Chloe rocking out in the park that fateful day when their hearts decided to sing until they couldn't anymore. It blew her away. "Marco! W-Wh-What-"

"My dad was taking pictures of that day we rocked out, and I asked him if he could get one of them blown up for you."

"I-I don't know what to say. We look _amazing_ in this! Oh, and FYI, we _totally_ need to do this again when we get back."

"You read my mind!"

"Testify!" She unconsciously glanced in the box without thinking; she was going to put the box aside until the corner of her eye caught something else sitting in the box. It was gold & shiny. "Hold the phone, there's something else in here..."

Whatever smile Marco had on his face immediately went away. He now realized _exactly_ what else he had gotten for her...and given what had transpired over the past week, he was having buyer's remorse. "No wait, Star, that's okay! It's nothing-"

But it was too late. She had pulled the object out of the box: it was a small, golden crown encrusted with a message on the front of it in bronze cursive writing. "_To the world's greatest, kindest, cutest, most beautiful, and most deserve princess & queen, Star Butterfly." _A simple message. But a truly effective one, as it had Star in tears of joy instantly.

Marco, however, thought they were tears of regret. "I'm sorry, Star. I-I got this before the party a-and before you hated it, so I didn't have a chance to cancel the order. Y-You do-"

She leaped up off the ground and tackled him, bringing him into a massive bear hug and smothering his face with kisses. "**_I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!"_**

Unsurprisingly Marco was appreciative of the affection but surprised at the reaction. "I thought you'd hate it-"

"Well...I mean I love the message. That's the more beautiful thing I've ever heard come from you. How can I be mad at that?" She finally got off of him and helped him up.

"Look you don't have to wear that crown if you don't want to. It was...it was just a thought. I got it _before_ your party and before you kinda went crazy about this kind of stuff."

"Marco-" She kissed him to get him to shut up. "You don't have to justify anything. I love it. I-I may not want to wear it out in public or show it off, but I really do love it." She hugged him again. "Thank you."

He reciprocated easily. "You're welcome."

"I really wish I had opened these gifts before we came here. Now I can't thank them for all of this stuff."

"Maybe not..." He pulled away slightly. "I might be able to help with that."

"Help? How?"

"You'll see...how's about we go back to bed?"

"Sounds like a good idea." They both headed back to the bed where they got cozy against each other again. "By the way...I'm sorry again about your uncle."

The boy took a deep breath and smiled. "Thanks."

"That won't happen with me. I'd never have the guts to go through with it."

"I believe you. But you're not alone in this. We're _all_ here to help you, we _all_ love you."

"I know." She smiled and kissed him again as they both tried to go back to sleep. A somber night for them was at least ending on a positive, uplifting note.

**End of Chapter 8!**

**As always, please read & review! :)**


	9. Cathartic Conference

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Cathartic Conference**

**Original Postdate: September 10, 2019**

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**Day 6**

The following morning saw Marco and Star still snuggling together. This time, though, the roles were reversed: Marco was the one soundly sleeping and Star was the one laying there with her eyes wide open. Despite the calming catharsis she felt after their talk & her opening the gifts, she couldn't quite get back to sleep. By this point, the sun was rising so she decided it was fruitless to even try. So she kissed him gently on the forehead, climbed out of bed, got dressed - dawning her white "Bubble Butt" t-shirt _and_ the blue jeans Jackie got her as a gift, and headed for the kitchen, grabbing the cookbook she received from the Diazes.

Almost 45 minutes later, she returned to the bed to find Marco still soundly sleeping. _He's so dang cute when he's asleep like that._ She thought. She carefully climbed back into the bed and snuggled against him, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Unfortunately that kiss was enough to make him stir around and eventually open his eyes, his vision catching the girl smiling at him. "Morning my little cutie angel." She said sweetly, planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

"H-How long have you been up?"

"I dunno, maybe an hour?"

"Wow...way to go."

"Come on, get up! I have a surprise for you!" She jumped out and pulled on his arms. He groaned and stood up.

"Isn't it too early for this?"

"Maybe but who cares it's FOOD!"

"Food?" He shook his head to shake the sleepy from his eyes. "You ordered room service?"

"Of course not, silly. Come on!" She grabbed his hands and dragged him into the kitchen. On the table there was a plate with a cover on it concealing the food. She slowly took the cover off. "I present to you..." Off it went, revealing a plate of completely mangled pancakes. "BREAKFAST!"

Marco stared at the plate for a moment. It was pancakes, alright. Sure they looked like they had the snot beaten out of them but they did _look_ like pancakes. "You made pancakes?"

"Uh huh!" She nodded her head proudly. She took a nearby fork and picked up a piece from the plate, handing it to him. "Try it."

He hesitantly took the fork and took the bite of pancake. A few curious chews and a swallow later, a smile crept onto his face. "Hey, that's pretty good!"

"You're not just saying that?"

"No way. You got this one down almost perfectly."

She gasped in delight and applauded herself. "Alright! I did good!"

"Though I _do_ have one question." He directed her attention back to the plate. "Why do the pancakes look like you strangled them?"

She giggled and went to the kitchen counter, grabbed a measuring cup that was filled with chocolate chips, and brought them back to him. "Sorry about that. I wanted to make chocolate chip pancakes like the ones we had at that breakfast place buuuut I couldn't figure out how to get the chips in."

"Oh, that's all? Well that's easy."

He guided her back to the stove, made more pancake mix, and poured one pancake's worth onto the stove, then dropped some chocolate chips in. "You have to bake the chocolate chips _into_ the batter."

Star facepalmed herself and groaned. "Doy! I knew I was forgetting something."

"Hey, don't feel too bad. You're making progress. You didn't burn anything this time."

"That _is_ true. And I guess we can use other stuff to make them taste even swe-" She gasped again, this time loudly and jumping up & down. "IDEA! MARCO, I HAVE AN IDEA!" She raced back to the table and grabbed the pitcher of chocolate chips again. "What if we melted these bad boys-"

"And made chocolate sauce for the other pancakes!?"

She smiled widely. "You've done this before, haven't you?" He nodded slyly before they both broke out into hysterical laughter, which ended in them making out. Once they were done kissing they did just that. They heated the chocolate chips up to the point of being melted and then poured the remnants on their food. The result was a super chocolatey breakfast that lit up their taste buds and their moods.

"And how is our customer enjoying his breakfast?" Star lovingly asked him.

"It's delicious!" He said with a mouth full of pancakes. "You're a fast learner."

"I guess I am." While she was beaming, she stood up and walked over to him, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. It did not take long for Marco to notice her new outfit.

"Are those the jeans Jackie got you?" He asked curiously while also blushing.

"They are." She replied, taking a step back. "I was just curious and all, but I gotta say...these fit me _perfectly_. It's like a glove!"

"I'm glad you like them so much."

"Well thank you, but what I wanna know is..." She spun around to face the other way so that her back was towards Marco. "What do _you_ think?" She posed for him to allow him the best possible view of her rear. It was also a convenient way for her to hide a massive red face going. "Be honest. And take _as long as you need_ to answer." Now she was just teasing him. Not that he minded. Through a bright red face, he let out a chuckle.

"They...they look _great_ on you." He said. "_Really_ great."

"You don't have to be so modest, you know." She giggled. "But it's not just about how it _looks_." She glared flirtatiously back at him. "If you know what I mean."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"You just answered your own question."

He rolled his eyes and slowly stood up from his chair. "Alright, fine, but if I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do it right."

"What does that-" Her question was then answer as he carefully turned her around and they passionately locked lips. It gave Marco the calm confidence to go ahead and gently squeeze her rear end. Sure enough, in those blue jeans, it felt sensational. "My aren't you feeling confident today. So what do you think?"

"Well you were right. It feels incredible."

"Feels like you never want to take your hand away, right?" She winked at him; both of them were now blushing like crazy.

"Kinda..." He let out a shy chuckle.

"Not gonna lie to you, sometimes I wish you'd keep your hand there for a _really_ long time."

"I totally get you." They kissed again.

"Alright, Diaz, moment of truth...does it feel better in these jeans than in the leggings?"

He gave the question some legitimate thought, which impressed Star & left her blushing. "I'm not sure, to be honest...it feels _and_ looks amazing in anything."

"And _nothing_ too, right?" She quipped, causing him to go bug-eyed for a moment before settling down. "It's okay, you can say it."

He rolled his eyes and blushed hard. "Don't even get me started on that, unless you want to be here all day."

"Who says I don't?" And now both were laughing hard before they locked lips once more. "If you're really curious...I think I prefer the leggings, but only _just_ barely. They both feel spectacular and I absolutely _love_ the way they both show off my figure."

"You've got an amazing figure to show off, that's for sure."

"And the best part? It's _alllll_ yours." Now they were both bright red.

"I feel very lucky."

"So do I." They followed up yet another kiss with a wonderfully soft hug.

"I think I agree with you...only because it's a little easier to actually get a hold of your tush in the leggings. It's a little bit harder with the jeans, but not by much."

"Makes sense. Although..." Her eyes darted down towards her backside, noticing the back pockets her jeans had. "You know these jeans have back pockets, right?"

Marco nodded carefully. "Right...what are you-" He quickly realized her suggestion. "Yeah?" She nodded. Slowly he moved his hand so that they went _into_ the back pocket and resumed squeezing her rear. "Better?"

"_Much_." She sighed contently. "Do you still prefer the leggings?"

"...Kinda..."

"Same, but at least we know these jeans are a good alternative, right?" She purred at him as they locked in another kiss. "If only I could thank Jackie for these jeans."

"Funny you should say that..." Marco smiled at her. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you up to, Diaz?" She asked with a playful smirk.

"Let's just say I'm working on a surprise for you." He caressed her hair and watched a smile form on her face. "But I have to make a call, and it might take a little time..."

"Hey, whatever is it, I'm sure it's great. And if it doesn't come together, no big deal. It's just nice that you're always thinking of me."

"Someone has to be." His warm smile compelled her to hug him again. "That may mean that we won't be able to do anything of note today, so if that happens-"

"Not a problem. I was kinda thinking I could use a slow day anyway. Don't get me wrong, this has been _amazing_ but we also gotta be able to rest, right?" He nodded in agreement. "Maybe I could go crash now for a bit, if that's okay? Get out of your way so you can do what you have to and I can be surprised."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, besides, I promised myself if I felt even the slightest bit run down on this vacay I was gonna take it upon myself to nap if I could. I'm all for going bonkers while we're here but I'm not going home run down."

"That's a good plan." He said as she lightly kissed his cheek.

"Wake me up when whatever you're cooking is ready. Or if you just wanna cuddle, I'm good with that too." She giggled softly and left the kitchen to give Marco the space he needed for his surprise. "I'll try to keep the chainsaws to a minimum while you're working."

"Oh please don't, that would be boring." He quipped back, drawing a playful glare from her before she blew him a kiss and went on her way.

* * *

And Marco's surprise? A video chat with their friends & loved ones back in Echo Creek. The only problem was Marco wasn't exactly tech savvy and couldn't figure out how to make the phone call show up on the laptop he brought along. Thankfully, _Janna_ was, and walked him through the steps needed to set it up on his laptop.

"_Okay, just plug your phone into the laptop."_

"Got it..."

"_You see the hard drive pop up on the screen?"_

"Yep."

"_Open it."_

He did so, opening up a start-up page that basically operated as a normal phone - allowing him to make calls and dial phone numbers from his computer. "Alright, I'm in." Another page opened up, reading "Incoming Call: Janna Ordonia." He answered, and lo & behold, he was now on a video chat with Janna. Janna was front & center, while the rest of their loved ones were hustling about in the background. "Wow, the picture quality is great!"

"Welcome to the 21st century, dweeb." She jokingly teased. "So, where's the lucky girl?" He sat up from the kitchen table and walked into his & Star's bedroom, pointing his laptop camera at the bed where she was peacefully out cold, revving up the chainsaws as usual with a small drool puddle right by her chin. "Think about it, Marco. All of _that_ is _all yours."_

He rolled his eyes. "Really, Janna?"

"_I'm just jossing you, jeez_."

"I know."

"_How's she holding up, by the way?_"

"Uh, she's doing better, I think..." He hesitated. "She's had her bad days but they haven't been nearly as bad as when she almost punched a mirror to her death."

"_Progress, right?_"

"I suppose..."

"_Alright I'll round up the cowboys and buzz you when we're all set._"

"Thanks, Janna." He hung up the call. Turning the camera back to its original position, he walked over to the bed and rested the laptop at the end of it. His gaze was squarely on the sleeping girl. He chuckled and blushed, getting an absolutely kick out of watching her slumber like this. _This girl could probably sleep through anything_, he thought. After the year and change she's had, who could blame her? It was more than earned and nobody would ever argue it. Before waking her, he ran back to their closet and grabbed the crown he got for her as a present and brought it back over, then carefully climbed into the bed and laid down right next to her. His body went tingly and his face red with blush just from being next to her. Everything about this girl - from her infectious smile & laughter to her beautiful flowing hair to her insanely gorgeous bod - made his heart skip beats constantly. Even the demons she possessed - the ones she was deathly ashamed of - made him smile & flutter; he could relate so easily to her struggles & looked forward to helping her beat them. And then of course there were the less..._kosher_ things he found to be attractive but let's leave it at that.

He leaned in gently & pecked her lips, which got her to stir around and open her eyes. She immediately recognized the boy through her sleepy vision & smiled, leaning in herself for another, longer-lasting kiss. "I could get used to waking up like this all the time."

"Me too."

"What's up?"

"Your surprise is almost ready." He said, wiping a bit of drool from her chin.

"I hope you didn't go too overboard this time."

"Not at all." He crawled over to his laptop and brought it closer to them. "Remember you said you wanted to thank everyone back home for your gifts?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, if I told you you'd get that chance? Like right now?" At that exact moment, Marco's phone - still connected to the laptop - binged, with a text from Janna. The message read _'Ready when you are.'_

Star loudly gasped. "Don't yank my chain, Marco! But how?"

"Star, let me introduce you to the wonders of modern technology." He turned his laptop back on and performed the set up to access video chat. It was here that Star noticed the gift crown that Marco inadvertently left right next to her.

"Oh for crying out loud, Marco, are you actually going to make me wear this?" She said rolling her eyes.

"What's that?" It was only now that he remembered he brought the crown with him. "Oh, no, of course not. You don't have to wear it, I-I just thought maybe-"

"I mean I love what you engraved on it, I just...I'm really just _done_ with everything that's related to royalty. Buuuuuut..."

"What?"

She offered to hand him the crown. "Do _you_ want to wear it?"

Her offered confounded him. "W-What? _Me?_"

"Why not? I told you I felt bad that I could never offer you a crown. I-I guess I still technically can't, but maybe we can pretend that I am?"

He smiled warmly and sighed. "Would you feel better if I wore it?" She nodded. "Alright, I'll wear it. But I reserve the right to take it off whenever."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Diaz." She handed him the crown; he carefully put it on his head, causing Star to begin gushing. "Look at you, you beautiful angel!"

He blushed madly. "Thanks, Star."

"It looks so good on you. You totally should keep it!"

"Thanks, but if I keep it the engravings on it won't make any sense."

"You and your rules." She rolled her eyes and laughed. Marco returned to the video chat, prepping it for him & Star. "You ready?" He said as he scooched back to be next to her. They embraced as she nodded. The screen finally popped up on his laptop. "Can everyone see us okay?"

Every one of their friends & loved ones was visible on the screen, with the parents up front & everyone else scattered around & behind them (with Mariposa in Angie's arms and Meteora in Eclipsa's). "I can see them!" River exclaimed. "Blasphemy!" Everyone joined in with loud & joyous greetings of the couple, which then turned to aww's upon seeing the crown on Marco's head.

"HI EVERYONE! HI!" Star shouted happily. You couldn't find a wider smile if you tried. "Yeah the crown was his gift to me, but I made him wear it instead." She turned to Marco. "Marco, you dork. You set this up for me?"

"Well not alone, I had _some_ help..." He silently winked at Janna, who gave him an approving finger bang in return.

"How are you guys?!" Star turned back to the others.

"Oh we're just wonderful, sweetheart!" Eclipsa barked.

"Everything's okay with, you know, the Earth/Mewni merge & stuff?"

"Actually yes. Things have been mostly quiet on that front. A little snafu here and there but nothing catastrophic or requiring significant resources or attention."

"Sorry we're not there to pitch in more to keep things going smooth."

"Perish the thought!" Moon intervened. "All _you_ need to do is enjoy your vacation. We have things under control here. Especially thanks to our standout monsters/human liaison. "

"**_STAR!"_** Ran a thunderous but familiar voice from the back. It turned out to be Buff Frog, who managed to carefully make his way towards the front of the group and wave to the camera. Star was delighted.

"Buff Frog! Hi!" She waved frantically.

"Not just me! I brought friend along also!"

And out from behind Buff Frog came...none other than Pony Head. In the flesh. "SURPRISE, GIRL!" She screeched in a way only Pony Head could.

"_**PONY HEAD!?**_" Star shouted and began jumping up and down on the bed while still kneeling on it. "_**PONY HEAD OH MY GOSH IT'S REALLY YOU I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YO-**_"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Star stop. Star!" Marco yelled, grabbing her shoulders and getting her to stop. "You're gonna knock the thing over."

"Oh, right. Sorry." She sheepishly said.

"Dang girl, I'm gone a week and already you're all alone with the Diaz kid!" She joked.

"It's not like _that_." Marco rolled his eyes.

"They _always_ say that."

"What happened to you?" Star asked her.

"Well when that s'plosion happened I ducked for cover, I didn't know what the heck was happening. And then those crazy soldiers came back so I stayed away from everything! I've been off the grid ever since but then I ran into _this_ guy-" Referring to Buff Frog. "-and he told me it was okay to come back out. And now I'm here! About time, too. I heard these suckers threw you a _party_?"

"It was a thank-you party!" Marco argued.

"Gee if I had known I woulda brought you something, girl. You know I don't like to miss pa-" It was at this exact moment that Pony Head caught the view of Star's shirt. She read it, and then raised an eyebrow. "Girl, what the heck are you wearing?"

Star did a double take on her shirt before realizing what was up. "Oh, my shirt! You like it? I got it custom-made!" She beamed proudly, putting her hands on her hips and posing. "See I'm getting to learn a lot about myself, and I'm embracing _all of it_. You're looking at a new Star! Still a work in progress, but I'll get there! Star Bubble-Butt Butterfly - _large and in charge_!" Those four words got Marco to nearly choke on his saliva. Where did that come from? "Oh, and by the way, Marco-" She whispered to him. "I _do _know what that means." She winked; he snort-laughed. "Oh, speaking of custom-made, hold the phone!" She got off the bed, ran to the closet, and grabbed her pink leather jacket. "Check _this _out!" She turned around to show the back of it and the "Star Butterfly" engraving.

"Gurrrrl that's cray!" Pony Head explained.

"I know, right? Do I look _hot_ in this or what?"

Pony Head smiled for her friend, but then turned to the others, confused. "Okay, what's going on with her?" She whispered.

"Yeah it turns out the girl's kind of horny now." Janna responded.

"Kind of?" Star & Marco both said simultaneously, which got major laughs from them.

"At least she's happy?" Tom interjected with a soft smile.

"Hi Tom!" Star waved enthusiastically.

"It's good to see you smiling again like that." He said proudly. "You look great-er I mean you look well rested!" He covered himself...poorly. Star smiled anyway.

"Thank you, Tom. And thanks for those beautiful blue hoops earrings."

"Oh you finally opened your gifts." Eclipsa said. "How wonderful!"

"Oh, yeah! Last night, of all times, too! Here, let me show them off!" She jumped off the bed and ran back to the closet. Marco turned the webcam towards the closet so they could all see. One by one, Star pulled out the gifts, starting with Tom's. She put the earrings on and showed them off. "I _love_ these! The color matches my eyes and they compliment any outfit I wear _sooo_ well."

"Do I know you or what?" He said proudly with a hint of smug.

"Mom, Dad-" She grabbed the sword & dress next. "I _love_ these. This dress is incredibly _gorgeous_, and this sword...this must be like a vintage!"

"I told your mother her taste in weaponry was excellent." River remarked.

"She really knows her-wait the sword was _her_ gift!?"

"Oh yes, your father and I decided it would be a bit of a fun experiment to switch our gifts for you and see what we could produce." Moon explained. "I dare say we outdid ourselves, didn't we?"

"I would agree! You guys are way too good to me. I don't deserve any of this."

"That's a lie and you know it." River proudly proclaimed; Star rolled her eyes and picked up Janna's gift next.

"Janna...I don't know _what_ goes through that crazy head of yours girl, but _THANK YOU!_" She said holding up the burrito blanket. Everyone else got a chuckle out of it.

"Do I know you or do I know you, sister?"

"You totally get me. Oh, and Mr. & Mrs. Diaz-" She turned to Marco's parents next. "_You_ guys are amazing! Thanks to your gift I managed to whip up a nice hot breakfast for Marco & I this morning."

"We had pancakes with chocolate chips melted into sauce!" Marco interjected.

"Too bad I didn't know you're supposed to cook the chips _into_ the batter first, but hey, they were still good!"

"That's wonderful!" Rafael shouted.

"We're very proud of you, Star!" Angie added. Even baby Mariposa got a cheer in.

"Thanks, guys. I can't wait to show you what I've learned when we come home."

"No rush, dear. You two have your fun, we're all okay here."

Star smiled again before going back to pull another gift. This time it was the manuscript Eclipsa sent her, the little mini house from Globgor, and the adorable drawing from Meteora. "So, Eclipsa, I...got your book..."

"Oh that's only one part of it." She corrected. "I still have a long ways to go but I thought you'd enjoy seeing how it's coming along. No rush, though. We have all the time in the world now."

"I'm sure it's great! And Globgor-" She took out the miniature house. "This is _so_ adorable! Have you started your work yet?"

"Today, actually!" He responded gleefully. "Soon as we finish here I'm off to start giving back!"

"Way to go!" Star then reached back down to geab the drawing Meteora made. "And where is little Meteora?" she said in a cute voice, holding up the drawing. in the group of people Mwteora starting waving her arms and squealing. "There you are my little angel! Thank you for this wonderful drawing." Meteora babbled happily in response. "Are you and Mariposa being good widdle girls?" Both Meteora _and_ Mariposa babbled happily, both to each other and to Star. Star laughed. "Of course you are, you're the goodest widdle babies I've ever seen, and that _includes_ me so that's saying something." She reached for another gift - the signed cornball she got from Buff Frog. "Buff Frog _this_ is amazing, thank you!"

"Is not much. I don't have resources for fancy materials. But you deserve many for all you have done for us." He proclaimed proudly. She gushed.

"That's what I told her." Marco interjected, turning the camera back to him momentarily; he was still wearing the gift crown. "That's why I got her this crown. But...she doesn't want it."

"Well not to _wear_." She corrected, heading back to the bed for a moment. "But I do love the message you engraved."

"What does it say?" Rafael boomed.

Marco sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Oh please, mijo. Pacify us." His mother teasingly pleaded. Marco rolled his eyes, took the crown off, and started reading.

_"To the world's greatest, kindest, cutest, most beautiful, and most deserving princess & queen...Star Butterfly."_

He dropped the crown onto the bed as everyone on the chat aww'd - except Janna, who squeaked out a "Such a cheese, Diaz" in the midst of everything.

"Isn't he the sweetest?" Star kissed him gently on his cheek. "I seriously do not deserve any of this."

"Sure you do, girl." Jackie spoke up. "You are one of a kind and I'm not just saying that."

Star gasped & had a blush going. "Jackie!" She waved nervously to her. "Hi! Oh, I gotta tell you, these jeans you got for me...they are _amazing_!" She stood up off the bed again, turning the web came towards her in the process. "They _feel_ great and they _look_ incredible!" She made no apologies in showing herself off in the jeans, turning her back to the camera for the best view of her jeans, which got a massively bright red blush from Marco and an impressed nod from Jackie. "I feel totally _hot_ in these."

"Dang, Star, you sure know how to rock 'em!" Jackie exclaimed approvingly. "Look at you go! Marco sure is lucky." Her little comment made Marco blush again.

"Oh pfft, don't be so modest. Everyone knows _you're_ still the master with all of this, don't deny it."

Meanwhile, Janna just looked back and forth between Star and Jackie, clearly baffled. "Um, where did _this_ come from exactly?"

"No no, Janna, it's okay. It's totally okay. See, it turns out I like to play for-" She rushed back to the closet, picked up two small flags - one blue and one pink - and held them up, waving them around with a giddy grin on her face. "_BOTH TEAMS!_" While these flags were technically the wrong ones to use to cement her point, the sentiment got through. At least to the Earth people. Star's folks, though, did not quite understand, though they did their best to hide that.

"That's wonderful dear, I'm so happy for you." Moon said putting her best face forward before turning to the Earth kids and Tom. "_I haven't the faintest idea what she's talking about."_ She whispered to them.

_"I'll explain later."_ Jackie promised.

"It's just good to see you happy and in a much better place now." Eclipsa said happily. "You had us worried for a bit there."

Star sheepishly smiled. "Let's not act like it's _all_ better just yet." She said. "I mean I _am_ feeling a lot better and I can definitely say I'm much happier and calmer now than I was a week ago, but..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well..."

"Hey, that Earth kid isn't giving you grief, is he?" Pony Head interjected. "Cause if he hurts even a single hair on your head I'm gonna-"

"Pony Head!" She shouted. "It's not Marco. Promise. He's been nothing but a gentleman this entire time. The problem is _me_."

"You? Girl what kind of noise are you-" Once again Pony's eyes darted to something of note: the bandages on her hands. "Waaaait hold the phone. What happened to your hands?"

Star's gaze went back to her hands & arms. "It...it was a rough couple of days after the cleaving. You know, magic was destroyed but then not really, a-and Marco & I kinda got the short end of the stick with stuff, a-and...and then I fought a glass mirror. And the mirror won."

Pony Head hissed in disdain. "Ouch..."

"...yeah, it's pretty easy to spiral into self-loathing & self-destruction, isn't it? And it's even harder to get yourself out of it. I've been getting better at it this past week, but it's not going as fast as I hoped it would."

"It's never going to." Tom said solemnly. "If it were _that_ easy to not inexplicably hate everything about yourself, everybody would do it. I know, I've been there."

"We've _all_ been there." Moon added, sneaking in a frown. "Some of us are _still_ there."

Star caught on to Moon's words. She actually read between the lines for once, sometime she constantly struggled to do while the era of magic was still going on. Her heart broke for her mother. How long has _she_ been going through this? Did this mean she too was destined for a lifetime of mental & emotional struggles? She hoped not. But surrendering to the demons was not an option. "Well...we just do what we do best: take it one day at a time. One foot in front of the other, right?" Moon and several others in the room nodded with her. "That's what I'm trying to do here. I've been getting to learn a lot about myself on this vacation. Like how I'm actually on both teams, how I just _really_ love showing myself off physically, and how..." She looked up at Marco and blushed. "How I really like physical affection. I mean..._really_ like it."

Marco's warm smile slowly turned to a curious frown. What did she mean by that? Was she...

"Well you _are_ your father's daughter." Moon quipped, breaking any potential tension.

"I gotta admit, a lot of this is still kind of weird for me..."

"I'm sure it is. But you're an intelligent & wonderful girl. You'll figure all of it out, I'm certain of that. And you have a tremendous young man beside you to help you through all of it."

Marco's head turned back to the screen, having realized what she just said. What a flattering compliment. All of this time he wasn't certain if Star's parents liked him - even after Star assured him they did. Now, he had his proof. "Thanks, Mrs. Butterfly." He said with a blush.

"No, thank _you_, Marco, for being everything you are to our daughter."

"Your folks raised you very well." River continued. "It's not hard to see why our daughter was so smitten with them. They are a riot!"

"I second that!" Tom added. "If I didn't have to go back to the underworld I'd spend all day with these guys!"

Now it was Marco's turned to be gushed about. His parents were _pros_ at making fast friends. "Stop it, guys..."

"Star, we took your parents out to go bowling the other day!" Rafael explained.

"Bowling?"

"Way to go, Dad!" Marco exclaimed victoriously. "How'd it go?"

"It was a complete disaster!" He said proudly with a completely straight (albeit happy) face. "None of us played well at all, we broke two screens, and _none _of the bowling shoes fit our feet."

"_And_ they kicked out us!" Angie chimed in, with Mariposa laughing.

"Wow, I'm sorry..."

"Why? It was wonderful!"

"I sure wish I had their innate optimism with even the most humiliating of circumstances." Moon sighed.

"Where do you think Marco gets his, huh?" Star nudged Marco gently before kissing his cheek.

"Alright, enough chit chat. It's your turn." Janna said with a smirk. "Come on, we want deets."

"Yeah girl, whatcha been up to?" Pony Head agreed.

"Oh guys, where would I even start?" Star sighed happily. "Oh, I know!" She leaned in quickly to the camera. "Dad! You remember that amusement park you used to take me to when I was little?"

"Do I? I still have the shirt I wore our very first time. You know, the one that got that gigantic vomit stain we could never clean out."

"Yeah well guess what? It's like fifteen minutes from this hotel!"

River & Moon naturally expressed shock at this statement. "Is that true?" Moon specifically was in disbelief. "What a remarkable coincidence."

"It was awesome! Marco and I went on so many rides-"

"Did you go on the Blitzkrieg?" River interrupted.

"OH yeah, and Marco and I - we _totally_ threw up on each other."

"Girl, TMI." Janna quipped, slightly offput by her statement.

"Oh Janna, you don't even know the _half_ of it."

And now she was significantly offput by her statement.

"And then we got separated from each other and we both got the idea to use balloons to fly around the park to find each other. I've really rubbed off on this boy."

"But dear you could've just used the Fantastic Exit Beam to find the park's-oh wait, no, that's right. No more magic." Eclipsa hung her head and sighed. "I'm still not entirely used to this yet."

"I know how you feel. I forget sometimes too."

"We played paintball." Marco continued where Star left off. "Or should I say _Extreme Paintball!_ We were separated and we got to play against each other."

"And Marco almost won, too!" Star smiled _wide_ when she said this. It was a small thing in the big picture but she was incredibly proud of him for how he played and how he almost won. "But then he sprained his ankle-"

A chorus of "aww's" from the others.

"But Star nursed me back to health." Marco finished, smiling at her. "You were a good nurse."

"Only the best for you, Marco." They lightly lip locked, drawing more "aww's" from everyone. "Oh, we also had ourselves a dinner date." Angie & Rafael immediately burst into giddy applause. They were giving StarFan13 a run for her money in the "Biggest Starco Shipper" department. "Yeah, we got gussied up all nice and..." She took a deep breath and blushed. "We even wore those promise rings." Now Marco's parents squealed. "We even got ourselves a nice dance in."

Eclipsa & Moon both shed a tear. "That's adorable, sweeties." Eclipsa choked up. "I'm sure it was a wonderful experience."

"It was."

"And that's _despite_ everything going wrong." Marco said quickly.

"Oh my gosh, _yes_, pretty much everything went wrong that night. The head chef of the place we went to **_walked out_** just as we were going in, none of the food was cooked except for the appetizers, and the dance floor was like a slow-moving train wreck."

"But it went wonderfully despite all of that. Personally, it's...it's my favorite memory of our trip so far."

More aww's. Star concurred. "It's mine too. And it erased the bitter taste of the Blood Moon out of my mouth."

The smiles on the crowd quickly faded to frowns. "The Blood Moon?" Inquired River.

"What does that mean?" Tom asked. "If you're talking about the curse, that's gone, right?"

"Yeah, but..." She looked away. The embarrassment had returned. As did some of the demons. She sighed and slowly turned back to the laptop screen. "The demons aren't."

Tom's eyebrows furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Well...Marco tagged along on the Blood Moon, a-and we had our dance, a-and then when we got back to his place I chewed him out because I thought he was treating me like I was fragile and that I couldn't take care of myself. I was so mad at him...but now I realize he was just trying to be a good friend, one that wanted to show he'd be there to support me no matter what, especially if I was ever in trouble. If the roles had been reversed, _I'd_ want to be there to do the same for him. I've...never really forgiven myself for yelling at him like that. And I probably never will." She wiped a tear from her eyes. Marco got off the bed, went over to the closet, and found the stuffed Marco doll that Star had gotten for them before the vacation, bringing it over to her to let her hug.

"I don't remember what prompted me to follow you that night." Marco admitted. "But...if I had to do it again, I wouldn't. You can totally handle yourself. You're not fragile."

"Fragile, no, but..." Moon interrupted them. "Her father and I...we sheltered her a lot growing up, far more than we should have."

"I've...noticed." Marco acknowledged.

"I'm not really proud of it, but we thought doing it was the best way to protect her. In retrospect, it was...quite a terrible idea."

"Perhaps we should have realized something had gone wrong when she didn't know how money worked." River insisted.

"Plus I went to great lengths to instill the concept of independence in her. It wasn't very becoming of royalty to ask others for help. And I mean asking for advice, not like having our servants do their job. She was drilled that it was expected of them." She caught a glimpse of Star, who was twiddling her thumbs and looking down at the bed sheets. "Perhaps...perhaps that's why she's so antagonistic towards people doing nice things for her or giving her praise or gifts...?"

"I'm not so sure about that." Marco interjected. "If I may, Mrs. Butterfly...I mean no disrespect, but it's one thing when it's servants - people whose _job_ it is to do what you tell them to - doing things for you and the likes. It's another when it's someone you love. Someone who cares about you so much that they'd do anything they possibly could to make you happy, because you being happy means everything to them." Marco's speech got Star to start tearing up again. "I mean, I'm sure Star had nothing but the utmost respect for her servants, but that's not the same as love." He turned to the nearly crying girl. "They did all of the stuff they did for you because they _had_ to. We're doing all of this because we _love_ you. They threw you that wonderful thank-you party because they love you. _I_ took you on this vacation and am spoiling you silly because I love you. Because you _deserve_ all of this. And so much more."

And here came the streams of tears. "Oh god I'm ungrateful, aren't I?" She sighed loudly and buried her head into her hands. "I'm so sorry, everyone...I ruined that party you threw for me, didn't I?"

"Nonsense, no." Eclipsa reassured her.

"But...you guys went through so much trouble for me and I just threw up all over it." She sighed loudly again. She was so caught up in her distress she didn't even notice Marco taking off her horns and gently placing the crown on her head and the devil horns on his. "You guys were doing something really neat to thank me and I couldn't be bother to-"

"Star-" Eclipsa interrupted her. "Please stop."

She gently shook her head. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?" Everyone, including Marco, nodded. Another loud sigh, this time attempting to facepalm too, only to have her hand touch the crown on her head causing her to jolt. "What the-MARCO!?" She looked at him rather annoyed. "What the heck?" He said nothing, he only sheepishly smiled. Star only now noticed he was wearing her horns. "Oh my gosh you look _so_ cute in those." Everyone else agreed with simultaneously "aww's" directed at both of them. "You just can't let this crown thing go, can you?"

He looked down at the bed and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

She smiled, kissing his cheek. "Don't be. I get it, I really do. A-And even though I still don't see myself as worthy...I'm grateful that all of you guys think I am." She fought back tears but her smile never wavered. "Maybe someday I'll see myself as worthy of the crown, a-and maybe I'll stop hating myself completely by then too. I'm getting there, it's just not happening as fast as I want it to."

"We love you, sweetheart. _Never_ forget that." Eclipsa interjected with a smile.

"And if there's anything we can do to help you along, don't ever hesitate to tell us." Moon agreed.

"Thanks you guys. Really." She blew a kiss to all of them. "I love you so much!"

In the background Janna casually checked her watch, and her eyes went buggy at the reading. "Oh shoot, we gotta go!"

"Where're you going?" Star asked curiously.

"Tom and I have tickets to a Love Sentence concert, and it's starting in an hour."

"Ooh, you're going together?" She asked inquisitively. Janna rolled her eyes, which prompted Star to applaud them. "Congratulations, Tom! You guys make a cute couple."

"Stoooop, it's nothing like that." He insisted. She wasn't buying it.

"That's what _everyone_ says at first." She giggled with a wink. "Yeah, I guess Marco and I should be going too. Are you _sure_ you guys are okay?"

"For the last time, we're all fine." Eclipsa said. "We'll have none of you two cutting your break short for us. You enjoy the rest of your vacation and have fun."

"But not _too much fun_, though!" Globgor blurted out, which got everyone else to laugh. Even Marco & Star, though Star's laugh died down before anyone else's.

"Bye everyone!" She gleefully shouted to the laptop, waving happily. Everyone exchanged goodbyes and waved back at her as Marco ended the call, unplugged his phone, and turned his laptop off. She smiled at the boy again. "Thank you, Marco."

"Anything for you." He responded proudly, moving his stuff off the bed so it wouldn't risk being broken. "I love you Star."

"And I love you. Now let me kiss that beautiful face." She grabbed him and they shared themselves a hearty kiss, collapsing on the bed in the process. It felt like each kiss was even more passionate & sensational than the last. A noble goal to attain while in a romantic relationship, they both agreed. Especially with the few days they've had. They pulled apart and took note of the glimmer in each other's eyes. "I've never told you this, Marco, but you're an amazing kisser."

He beamed at her compliment. "Thank you. But it helps that I have such a good kisser as a partner."

She blushed back. "Aww, you...well I get a lot of enjoyment out of doing this with you."

"Me too. You know, I'm really glad you like the physical affection so much. It's nice to be able to hold you like this." She smiled, albeit sheepishly. He quickly picked up on this. "This...this _is_ what you meant by that, isn't it?"

For the longest time, she gave no answer. She said nothing, almost as if she herself was searching for a response to give. And she was. Awkward conversation incoming...

**End of Chapter 9!**

**So...yeah this one was a looooong one but another fun one to write. Hope you enjoy it.**

**As always, please read & review! :)**


	10. Passionate Preference

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Passionate Preference**

**Original Postdate: September 12, 2019**

* * *

**A/N: If any chapter is going to get this story bumped to an M, it'll be this one, or possibly the next one. This chapter's going to attempt to explore some sexual themes & concepts. Not in great detail, mind you, I don't want **_**all**_** of my chapters to be as long as the previous one, plus I'm not really up for going that deep into it, but they'll at least be acknowledged. Mind you I do want to keep the T rating. **

* * *

Star laid there on the bed, next to Marco, completely silent. Having to contemplate how to put her thoughts into the right mix of words was always an uncomfortable task on touchy subjects like this. Not so much because she was afraid Marco would think worse of her, but that she would think worse of herself.

"Star?" Marco asked softly to the girl who wasn't even looking her in the eye at the moment. "Are you okay?" She finally looked back up at him, her face contorting with conflicting emotions. "I didn't mean anything by that, you know...I was just joking-"

She silenced him with a quiet kiss on his lips. "Marco...can we talk?"

"Of course. What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and scooched closer to him, cuddling next to him. "Everything that happened yesterday...you know..."

"Right...?"

"I think it...awoke something in me."

"What do you mean by that?"

She nuzzled her head against his chest. Conversations like this were _never_ easy, no matter how comfortable she felt spilling her guts to the boy. "We were kissing on the bed...in our robes...a-and I felt...I felt tingly. And not like I normally feel, this was..."

"More?"

"Y-Yeah." She looked up at him. "Did...did you feel the same way?"

Marco hesitated. His eyes locked on hers. They had convinced themselves they had looked forward to these conversations unapologetically. And while that was technically true, there was that small part of them that was fearful of the outcome of said conversations. "...I think I did. It was...it was wonderful."

"Wasn't it?"

"But what made this one different?"

"Well...remember I said I wasn't wearing anything under my robe? A-And neither were you, right?" The boy nodded silently. "Please don't be mad, but...but it got me to think about what it looked like under the robe, and...I gotta tell you, I liked what I imagined."

He looked down at the bed sheets, but a smile crossed his face. "Can I tell you something?" He looked up to catch her nodding. "I did the same thing with you. A-And I felt the same way." Any concerns that they made have had were temporarily evaporated, giving in to the feeling of relief & joy filling their heads. They embraced & shared a kiss. "You are so incredibly beautiful, Star. I-I'm very lucky."

"So am I. I just can't stop thinking about you. You and your gorgeous bod."

"I don't feel very gorgeous, at least compared to you."

"Marco..."

"Come on, look at you. You've got a beautiful smile, incredible hair, perfect curves, and a gorgeous butt that I can't stop thinking about or wanting to look at or hold. What do I have?"

"I'll tell you what you have." She gently caressed his face, kissed his cheek, and ruffled his hair. "You've got the cutest dimples I've ever seen, I _love_ that mole, your hair is beautiful, I absolutely adore your slim figure, and stop knocking your tush. It may not be like mine but that's hardly your fault, and I love it anyways." She leaned in to kiss him again.

"Thanks, Star." A brief awkward silence followed their kiss. "So...what do we do now?"

"...I was going to ask you the same thing."

Now an even longer silence followed. While Star _was_ quite sheltered and there was a lot about human - hell even _Mewman_ \- culture she didn't understand, she was aware that the potential next step for her and Marco was a massive one. And it was one she didn't want to screw up. She gently wrapped her arms around his torso, with Marco following suit. They just held each other. It felt like the right thing to do. Neither wanted to say anything, but the silence was deafening.

"Do you..." Marco pulled away slightly and looked at her, their eyes locking. Their souls connecting. "Do you want to go further?"

Star blinked at the suggestion, almost blacking out for a moment. It was a question that both stunned her...and also didn't. It was a question she had been contemplating asking him. "I..."

"It's okay if you don't, and we can just pretend I didn't ask-"

"No no, I mean...I can't say that I _don't _want to."

He hesitated for a second, but then calmly nodded. "...I think I'm in the same boat. I...I want to _know_ if I want to go further. Does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense, and I'm totally with you. So how do we handle this? I mean I barely know _anything_ about how all of this is supposed to work, but...I know that I _want_ to find out with you."

"I do too." He slowly sat up from the bed. "Maybe...maybe there's someone out there who can help us."

"...You're not talking about our parents, are you?" Star sat up as well, blushing strongly. "Cause I-I don't think I'm comfortable talking to them about this kind of stuff yet, t-they may get the wrong idea-"

"No I know, I didn't mean them. Like maybe an expert or a doctor or something?"

"I guess that could work."

"Let's see what I can find." He leaped off the bed onto the ground beside it, reopening his laptop. His fingers typed like they had never typed before, rummaging through web page after web page. Star soon after joined him on the floor. "Ooh, I think I have something."

"What?"

"There's a Seminar being held this afternoon. _Your Maturing Body & You._ Looks like this place isn't too far from our hotel." He turned to Star, calmly smiling at her. She easily reciprocated. "What do you think? Do you wanna go?" He kissed her gently on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her. "It's your call. Whatever you want to do, we'll do..."

Star looked at the web page for a moment. Dozens of different thoughts raced through her head. How badly did she want this? Could this completely screw up their relationship? Was it worth the risk? Eventually she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Finally she gave her answer. "Sure." Followed by a quiet nod.

"You sure?"

"Look, e-even if...whatever's going on with us doesn't last, it wouldn't hurt to learn a little more about how I'm growing. It could be useful information for us no matter what, right?"

"Makes sense. And you're positive you want to do this?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright then." He closed his laptop. "It starts in about an hour. That should give us enough time to get there and get a good seat."

* * *

And that's exactly what they did. They headed to the building that was hosting the seminar, signed up for it, and grabbed some seats near the front of the classroom. There were about a dozen other scattered people flocking in and grabbing seats around the two. "You nervous?" Marco asked her.

"Yup. You?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, it's not like this place is going to judge us, right?"

"I hope not. I _really_ don't need that right now."

"It's all going to be okay, Marco. No matter what happens."

Once everyone around them was settled, a few more minutes of awkward chatter between them all passed before two adults entered into the room. One male - a scruffy, gray-haired older gentleman in a beige dress shirt, black tie, khakis, dress shoes, and black leather jacket - and a female - long, slightly frazzled brown hair, business skirt, high heels - entered through two side doors by the front of the classroom, carrying folders with them to the front desk. The guests quickly simmered down while the teachers grabbed a nearby projector and set everything up. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife...if that knife was about fifty times the size of a regular one.

When they were all done, the male and female instructor turned to face the awkwardly nervous students. "Welcome, everyone, to today's seminar - _Your Maturing Body & You._" The male instructor spoke with a highly pronounced smoker voice. "We'll be your instructors, Mr.-"

"And Misses." Spoke the female instructor.

"Glankowski. Now...we're assuming that all of you here today are between the ages of 13 and 19, correct?" There was a murmur of agreements from the crowd. "Good, that's good. Means you're all about the perfect age to be learning what we're going to teach you today." They turned the projector on, revealing a slideshow that would serve as their blueprint for the seminar. "You're all at the age where you're experience changes in your bodies. This process is know as _Puberty_."

"During puberty, your bodies reach their fullest maturity." The female instructor continued. "Physically...emotionally..._and_ sexually."

Star & Marco's eyes peaked; they exchanged looks. Yep, they were in the right place.

* * *

The seminar went into quite a lot of detail in regards to the subject matter, including how exactly the bodies of boys and girls changed during puberty, the differences between normal puberty, precocious (premature) puberty, & delayed puberty, and puberty that goes horribly wrong. And while all of this information was vital and important to Star, this wasn't _quite_ what she was hoping to get out of it. Of course the seminar wasn't finished yet, and to the credit of the instructors, they were _very_ accommodating in terms of covering certain topics the guests wanted to have covered, and they didn't hesitate to deviate from their planned blueprint to cover said topics.

This note encouraged Star to raise her hand at one point and speak out to ask for the topic that nobody else had yet asked for. "Excuse me?" She said firmly, getting the attention of the instructors. Not that this all hasn't been very helpful - it has - but...are we going to be getting to the more...erm, _sexual_ aspects of the course? You know, like...how do you approach the idea of sexual attraction to someone you really care for..." She turned to Marco as she spoke, blushing but smiling. He smiled back and wrapped an arm around her.

The two instructors looked at each and smiled, with the male instructor shuffling some papers around and setting up a new lesson plan. The female instructor turned to the guests. "Some of you may be at a point where you're feeling very explicit..._sexual_ urges. You might be experiencing a variety of conflicting emotions, teetering from wanting to act on these urges, wanting to suppress them, or somewhere in the middle. We are not here to encourage or discourage you one way or the other. What you do with your bodies or your emotions is your business. We are only here to provide you with all of the facts and information that you need to make the most informed decisions possible."

The male instructor walked up to the female instructor and stood pat, a serious, stone-cold expression crossing his face. "If you take away anything - _anything_ \- from this seminar, let it be this. Every single sexual encounter you will ever have in your life is a contract. A contract is only enforceable when _all parties_ sign off on it. If one party does not put their name on that dotted line, there _is_ no contract. In that case, any sexual action you take is a _crime_, punishable by law. Unlike regular contracts, you can terminate _these_ at any time for any reason. It's _your_ body, and it's _your_ choice.

"As my wonderful wife mentioned, we're not here to judge you, nor are we here to tell you what you should or should not do. All we're providing is information. How you use that information is up to you."

"Just know that whatever emotions or thoughts you're wrestling with, you're not alone." The female instructor continued. "Everyone that has come before you has grappled with this. Everyone that comes after you will struggle with this. It's all normal, and it's all okay. But it also comes with its share of responsibility." The male instructor swapped papers on the projector while the female instructor continued. "As we went over, the process of sexual intercourse is not just a self-pleasuring mechanism, but it's also the very process which humanity is created. Now _some_ of you are debatably old enough to be in a position to raise a family. Others of you clearly are not. This is not to suggest that you should refrain from any sexual actions until you're of age - though you are free to do so if you choose."

"Instead it's recommended that you use protection. There are several different methods of protection you can choose from." And the papers cycled through the various sources of protection they could use. "It's important to remember that while these methods are effective, they are by no means perfect. It still requires attention to detail on your part and vigilance."

The lesson continued for some time, with explicit outlining on just how the baby-creating process actually happens, as well as what can happen when sexual protection...fails. There was also an in-depth discussion on hormonal balance & its effect on sexual activity. Star & Marco - and everyone there - were certainly getting their money's worth.

Eventually after enough time passed, the male instructor shut off the projector for the time being. "I'd like to try something. We're going to open the floor to you all. This is your chance to share with us. It can be anything: it could be an experience you've had going through puberty, a sexual activity gone right, a sexual activity gone _wrong_, or just questions about anything you've heard today. None of you are under any obligation to speak, but if you'd like to...the floor is yours."

There was a silence that filled the air. The tension was palpable, with everyone contemplating volunteering. Even Marco. Luckily for them, somebody decided to step up.

"I'd like to speak."

It was Star. She proudly raised her hand and stood up from her seat, walking towards the two instructors, who casually stepped back and gave her space. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes widely to put on the bravest possible face. "Um...hi everyone." She said nervously. "My name is Star Butterfly. I'm...I _was_ the former princess of Mewni."

"Hi, Star!" The group said collectively, with the exception of Marco, who quietly blew her a kiss.

"It's been...it's been quite a week and change for me personally. Not just emotional stuff but definitely...physical stuff too." She blushed. "I'm not really sure where to start, so I guess I'll start at the beginning." She took another deep breath. "I never really saw myself as someone who would not only embrace being physically or sexually attracted to someone, but also loving the idea of someone being physically or sexually attracted to me. That all started to change like a week ago. See, my boyfriend, Marco Diaz-" She pointed to him in the group. He was red with embarrassment. "_Sweetest_ guy you could ever ask for as a friend - he started letting out in places that he saw me as _physically_ attractive. It started out small and innocent, b-but eventually I realized that it was bothering him because he thought it wasn't appropriate. A-And maybe it's not.

"I don't really know Earth culture very well so I don't know how others would take that. But...it made me realize that I _like_ it. I _like_ the fact that he sees my body as beautiful. Maybe a lot of it has to do with Marco and I being so close as friends, but...if I had to have anyone attracted to me like that, I'm glad it's him. It's funny, actually, if it weren't for him, I may have never realized how much I love the phrase-" She unzipped her leather jacket to unveil the white custom-made shirt she was still wearing. "_Bubble Butt_." Her exposure got a reaction from the rest of the group. "Yeah, really, I got this thing _custom-made_ for myself just because of how much I love that phrase. That boy was so afraid that I was going to be offended by him seeing me like that, and here I am just like _'PUT IT ON A T-SHIRT DANGIT!"_

Marco put up his hoodie, even redder in the face now, though with a smile.

"You know, for the longest time, I was never able to pinpoint exactly what guys saw in girls. You know, _why_ they were physically attracted to them. Now?" She spun around to show off her jeans to the group. "I _totally_ get it! Girls, you've got the goods, don't be afraid to strut 'em! Right, Marco?"

By this point Marco couldn't help but start giggling to himself, completely blown away by how unapologetic Star was about her physicality or sexuality. It was honestly very refreshing for him, albeit a little embarrassing too.

"And it's not just the _look_ of it that gets my tingly, it's the _feel_ too! There was this one time where I was on a roll and bragging about myself a-and I actually took Marco's hand and brought it down to my tush. It was the first time he actually grabbed it, and it was _then_ that I realized "Wow. This feels great!" Like I don't just like how it feels, I _love_ it. I _crave_ it. If I could, I would ask that boy to keep his hands on my butt all day and all night. It's just that exhilarating. And I can only imagine how much fun it is for him, too." She winked in his direction. He blew another kiss to her.

"There was the other day where Marco and I went to use our hotel's hot tub. But, uh, our bathing suits got...let's say _damaged_ while we were busy making out. As a result..." She shied away for a brief moment, slightly embarrassed. But only slightly. "As a result of that...I got to see Marco's naked tush, and, uh...Marco got to see _my_ naked tush."

"Twice." Marco said quickly.

"Twice. So-wait, _twice_?!"

"Yep, so technically I owe _you_."

"Wait a minute, how did _that_ happen?!"

"...Remember you covering me as part of our escape plan?"

"Oh that's right I co-**_GASP!_**" She gasped loudly and covered her face. At no point during their escapade the previous day did it ever occur to Star that in the process of using her body as a shield for Marco to put their distraction plan into action, she gave him a clear-cut close-up of her bare rear end in all of its glory. She was literally an inch or two _at most_ apart from him. How he was able to concentrate long enough to carry out their plan was a thought that consistently eluded her. "Well...that's embarrassing..."

"...I couldn't have _asked_ for a better view even if I had wanted to." Marco sheepishly said before frowning.

Star smiled and smirked. "Well now you _better_ have liked what you saw."

Marco immediately covered his crotch area and blushed _hard_, something that one of the other guests took note of. "Does _that_ answer your question?" The guest said, which actually got a laugh from Marco.

"He's not wrong." Marco said in between laughs. Star also joined in the laughter.

"I don't really know where I'm going with all this anymore. I...guess what I'm trying to say is...this is an entirely new realm of emotions that I really want to explore. I don't know if I'll come out of this liking any of it when we're done, but...but I am glad that I have my best friend to be able to explore them with." Marco smiled yet again. "There's nobody else I would trust as much with my feelings like this. M-Maybe the next step really is...you know, _that_. If it is...I trust him completely." She wiped a tear from her eye as Marco did the same. "That's all I have, thank you."

She returned to her seat to a nice round of applause from everyone, including the instructors, which continued on even as she went to kiss Marco. Star's speech got the ball rolling, inspiring everyone else in the room to step up & speak out about some of their experiences as well as ask questions they may have had about the seminar or about sexuality in general. Even Marco found the courage to speak out, as he went into great detail about his own perspective on his sexuality. He recounted his time as Princess Turdina, which got him to embrace his more feminine side. He spoke of both his physical & sexual attraction to Star as well as speaking at length about his physical attraction to Jackie Lynn Thomas, the latter of which got Star riled up, much to his amusement.

* * *

Once everyone took their turn to speak, the seminar came to a close. Everyone was dismissed - each receiving a complementary gift basket. These gift baskets included pamphlets and books on the nature of puberty, sexual orientation, and a significant haul of sexual protection - particularly condoms. After receiving said gift baskets and departing, Star & Marco contemplated their next move.

"That was nice." She remarked, kissing his cheek. "Thanks for taking me here."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you got a lot out of it."

"Me too. But...what do we do now?"

They found themselves a nearby table and sat down at it, placing the gift baskets on the table with them. "I'm...not sure."

"What is your gut telling you?"

"Honestly? My gut is just giant blub of _blegh_." He stuck his tongue out for exaggeration which got a laugh from Star.

"Same here. It's like..." She sighed, fighting internally to finish her thought.

"It's okay, you can tell me."

"It's like I _want_ to...I want to-"

"Go for it?"

Her eyes darted to him. Both of these faces were a bright shade of red. "M-M-Maybe...? Do _you_?"

Marco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I think I'd like to find out."

She smiled warmly at him. "Me too. But what if something goes wrong? O-Or what if-"

"We're never going to know if this is what we really want unless we go for it, right? A-And if it turns out we don't want it, we can just pretend it never happened & never have to do it again, right?"

She nodded solemnly. "Right..."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm kinda scared about all this too. I don't want to hurt you or-"

"Marco-" She leaned in and gently kissed the boy. "Give yourself a little credit. You're not gonna hurt me. I meant everything I said back there. Whether or not this pans out...whether or not things progress the way we want them to...I trust you 100 percent. I trust that you have my best interests at heart. I trust that you'll never do or say anything to hurt me - at least on purpose - and I trust that this is all bothering you in the same ways it's bothering me. Marco, we're in this together."

He nodded in agreement, giving off a warm smile her way as they kissed again. "You're right. We're a team. And I couldn't ask for a better partner."

"Me neither."

The next few moments went by with awkward silence. Sooner or later they were going to have to face that next step. They wanted to be ready, at least emotionally. "...are you ready?"

She twiddled her thumbs silently for another moment. "...I don't know. But I don't think putting it off is going to make this any easier."

They both stood up and took their gift baskets. "I agree. Let's head back to the hotel." They embraced hands, kissed, and started slowing making their way back to their hotel.

**End of Chapter 10!**

**Whew. That was...something, wasn't it? Just wait until we get to next chapter, though...**

**As always, please remember to read & review! :)**


	11. Sexual Savant

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Sexual Savant**

**Original Postdate: September 14, 2019**

* * *

**A/N: See the warning I put for chapter 10.**

* * *

The two lovebirds arrived back at their hotel room, still carrying their gift baskets. Once inside, they dropped the gift baskets on the floor behind them and double checked that their door was locked. "Okay..." Star said slowly. "...we're back."

"That we are." He responded awkwardly. "So...how do you want to do this?"

She turned to him and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, is there like a _right_ way to do this? Or a _wrong_ way?"

"I-I'm sure there are wrong ways to be doing this, but...I know that's not what you meant."

"Ooh, wait!" She squealed, the gears in her brain starting to turn. "I have an idea! Here me out..." She turned to him, grabbing his hands & gently holding them. "Let's start slow and work our way up to...you know, _the big one_."

"That sounds like a good idea, but what did you have in mind?"

"Well..." Her eyes darted towards the door that lead to the bathroom with the working shower. "We _do_ only have one working shower..."

Now Marco's eyes darted towards that door. Quickly the pieces came together for him. And that he didn't _immediately_ reject the idea told him all that he needed to know. "But we've...we've never showered together before."

"I-I know, but there's a first time for everything, right?"

"I guess..."

"It's just an idea. No hard feelings if you don't want to."

"No! I mean..." He hesitated, but stood his ground and smiled. "It could be fun. Any time that I get to spend close to you is time well spent."

His words got a beaming smile from her. "I feel the same way. I don't care what we're doing, as long as I'm doing it with you."

* * *

Could the two of them coexist in an intimate position that pushed the boundaries past what they were already used to?" One way or another, they were going to find out. So they changed out of their clothes and put on their bathrobes and reported to the bathroom. To say nerves were fried would be an understatement. Sure, they went on and on about simply reverting back to the most comfortable status quo they had should this endeavor not pan out, but that was always easier said than done. Marco slowly turned the shower on and they watched as the water fell & began to heat up, exchanging glances with each other.

"Are you nervous?" He asked her. She nodded solemnly.

"I am, but...I'm also kind of excited?" She admitted.

"Really?" They both smiled. "So am I."

"And no matter what happens, _no hard feelings_, right?"

"Agreed." They shared a soft kiss before turning their attention back to the task at hand. "Alright, moment of truth. You want me to go first?" She said nothing. Only a shrug after a moment of hesitation. Not a definitive answer. So Marco made one for her. "Okay...here goes nothing." And thus it was time. He slowly took off his bathrobe and placed it gently on the ground. Underneath? Absolutely nothing. Just the pure, bare necessities. His hands carefully covering his private area. His face a bright red glow. His gaze was on the ground; he wasn't ready to face her. That is until he unconsciously lifted his eyes in her direction and saw that the girl was beaming with pride & blushing. He lifted his head all the way up and smiled back.

"Oh my gosh, Marco, look at you!" She squealed. "You're beautiful. Absolutely _beautiful_."

"You really think so?" He said as he slowly spun around to have his back turned to her.

"I would not lie about that. And your tush is as gorgeous as ever."

"Oh stoooop..." He teased, turning back around to face her. "But thank you."

She blew him a kiss, then took a deep breath and examined her own person. "My turn."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"_You_ just did it, I'm not leaving you hanging like that." And thus she slowly began to follow suit, removing the bathrobe she was wearing and placed it on the ground next to her. There she still, in all of her pure, bare glory. Her hands were covering her privates as well and her hair was draped carefully over her chest area. She smiled sheepishly with a red face; Marco was left stunned & speechless, but his brightening red face & big smile gave it all away. "Well don't be shy."

"I...what do I even say?" He stammered, clearing awestruck at the beauty he was witnessing. "...I could call you the hottest, most beautiful girl I've ever seen but that would _never_ do you justice."

She giggled as she too turned around to have her back face his. "Marco...you're too sweet." He wanted to remark about her butt the way she remarked about his, but no words came out, only flattered stammering. She took note of this. "Like what you see, don't you?" He nodded quickly. "I'm really glad you do."

"It's..." He was visibly sweating now, nerves shot to hell. "It's even more incredible than I remember it from the hot tub."

She turned back around to face him, a big smile on her face and a strong blush going. "You're such a gentleman." She turned to face the running shower. "Let's get in the shower and you can play with it as much as you want." She approached him & took his hand.

"Sounds like a plan."

So they entered the running shower. Steam began to surround their glowing bodies as they embraced & locked in a passionate kiss. If kisses had the power to create real fireworks their entire hotel room would be in flames right now. They would have to settle for the steam surrounding them & clouding them so that only silhouettes were visible from the outside. The two of them didn't shy away from being rather handsy with each other while their make out session continued. It was such a relief for both of them that they were at a point where they not only felt comfortable with it but actively encouraged it.

At one point they pulled away from their kiss & stared passionately into each other's eyes, the shower water hammering them like nobody's business. It felt like Cloud 9. Neither needed to say anything for the point to get across: they liked this. A lot. And they wanted _more_.

"Yep, I...I could definitely get used to this." Star admitted.

"Ditto." He responded, giving another gentle tug at her rear end. "I love this. I love _you_."

"I love you too." She nuzzled her head carefully into his chest and reciprocated the tush squeeze. "I could do this all day."

"Me neither. But...do you want to see if we can go even further?"

She lifted her head slightly to face him. "...Are you sure?"

"We'll never know unless we try, right? D-Do you want to?"

She hesitated, but the nodded proudly. "I do."

"Me too."

They finished their shower session with one more kiss before parting.

* * *

After shutting it off & drying themselves, they made their way to their bedroom, shutting the door behind them & closing the blinds to all of the windows. They equipped themselves with all of the necessary protection (technically more than what was necessary, but hey, don't knock them for wanting to take no chances) and slipped under the blankets, nuzzling up close to each other in preparation for what was about to go down. "How're you feeling?" He asked her.

"Not going to lie, I'm nervous." She responded, clasping her hand into his.

"Believe me, I am too. I _don't_ want to screw this up for you."

"I think if any one would screw it up, it would be me. But that's not going to happen. You trust me, I trust you, and we're going to come out of this just fine, no matter what happens."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thanks. I...just don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"...that makes two of us..."

"I-I'm open to suggestions...?"

"Well why don't we just kiss? You know like we normally do? A-And whatever our bodies do we just..._go_ with it."

"Sounds like as good of a plan as we're going to have. J-Just promise me if you start to feel uncomfortable or I do something wrong-"

"I'll speak up. I promise. But I trust you."

He smiled warmly and nodded. Without wasting any more time, they again locked lips & began passionately kissing, letting go of any of their anxieties or stresses & allowing nature to take its course. And take its course it did. Both raptured in each other's embrace. Both aroused like they thought only possible in dreams. Both on Cloud Nine. Both of them had contemplated the best possible feelings they could've obtained from this, and it was still exceeding their wildest expectations. Like in the shower, they didn't hesitate to be handsy. The physical affection was the most exhilarating, both for Marco and _especially_ for Star. There was little noise; only the sound of kissing and the occasional giggle. It was perfectly quiet, exactly what they wanted. Physically, it was assertive, but it wasn't aggressive. They weren't like that. They wanted to get satisfaction from it but neither of them were interested in "rough-housing" so to speak. It went just far enough to satisfy them without going past the line of comfort.

There were multiple instances where they briefly pulled from the kiss to gaze at each other. Smiles all around each time, serving as a quiet approval to continue. At one point, however, after an indeterminate amount of time had passed, Marco pulled out of his kiss with her, realizing that she was not as engaged now as she was at the beginning. Turns out that she had fallen asleep, indicated by her light snoring. Marco's eyes displayed confusion & concern, though ultimately he decided that a rest was in order, so he ceased, pecked her forehead and fell asleep next to her, still with his arms wrapped around her for a hug.

* * *

A couple of hours later - around late afternoon - Star opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head from her pillow, surveying her surroundings. She realized that she had fallen asleep some time ago and that Marco must've followed soon after. She smiled as her gaze settled on the lightly snoring & drooling boy. She pecked his lips and hugged him, stirring him awake. "Hi, sleepy head." She said softly.

"Hey..." He smiled & returned the kiss. "How're you feeling?"

"Great, actually. That was...magical." She said with a chuckle. "Did I...did I knock out?"

"Y-Yeah, you fell asleep after a while. That's when I backed off and went to sleep myself." He explained.

"Aww, Marco...you didn't have to stop, you know. Just because I fell asleep."

His eyes widened. He knew what she meant - and he was certainly appreciative of the consideration - but that was a pandora's box he would never be comfortable opening. "Uh, _yes_ I did."

Star also knew what Marco meant, but the urge to be polite & accommodating was strong. "But-"

"No, I wouldn't do that to you. I'm not here to take advantage of you, you don't deserve that." He stood firm in his stance, which both earned Star's admiration & slightly irked her. Playfully, of course. "Beside, it wasn't a total loss, I got a nice nighttime symphony _and_ bonus water show."

She initially raised an eyebrow before taking note of the drool strain on the pillow she was sleeping on. She shook it off with a laugh. His attraction to her revving up the chainsaws and drooling in her sleep continued to be a source of complete befuddlement to her - and more so to him - but at this point both of them had stopped trying to fight it and they just rolled with it. If it made him happy, it made her happy. She adored him either way. "Well I'm sure _that's_ got you eager for more, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Plus it's a lot more fun to do this when _both_ of us can enjoy it, you know?"

She pondered his words and decided that she agreed. "That's true. I just...hope me falling asleep like that didn't give you the wrong idea-"

"Oh no no, not at all-"

"Because...it was nice. Really nice." She said with a blush, kissing him again.

"Was it everything you hoped it would be?"

"No. It was _better_. It was like I could do magic again and could float in the air. It was assertive, but gentle. It was...it was perfect."

"I'm so happy to hear that. Because I'm not going to lie..." Marco started blushing again. "I-I wouldn't mind doing this a lot more often with you."

"Same here. I feel such a rush right now..." She giggled and looked away briefly. The deed had been done, and it surpassed every expectation the two of them had for it. Nothing catastrophic went wrong, no disasters were caused, no feelings were hurt, and no misdeeds performed. The only thing that one could argue went wrong is Star knocking out in the middle of it, but Marco handled it like a champ. "Hey...you know, I'm awake _now_. Would you..."

"Want to go again?"

It didn't take more than a second for her to answer. "I would. Do you need to reinforce your protection?" He did a quick self-check, and he concluded that he did, and he did so quickly before settling back in. "You good?" He nodded confidently. "Good, cause I'm ready. Don't hold back, mister."

They scooched together again and resumed kissing, once again letting nature take its course.

* * *

Several more hours had passed. After a while, they ceased and simply laid next to each other, holding each other in a warm, beautiful embrace. They had completely lost any track of time. Not that it mattered anyway. To them, the sweet sensation of the other laying up against them & hugging them was more than enough to satiate any desire. "Hey Marco..." She spoke softly, looking up at him. "Thank you."

He caressed her hair and gently kissed her forehead. "For what?"

"For everything. For being the best friend anyone could ever ask for. For being the thing I look forward to every day and keeping me going. For taking care of me. For being _you_."

"Aww, you're welcome."

"I'm serious, you do way more for me than you should. It kind of feels like you're raising me, in a way..."

"Um..." His eyes went a little wide for a moment. "Considering what we just did, maybe "raising you" isn't really the best way to-"

"Oh...yeah..." And it didn't take long for _her_ to realize what she said. "Well, you know what I mean, though, right?"

"I do."

"You really _are_ doing way more for me than you have any business doing."

"Don't say that. It's no trouble, really. I love you, and I want you to be in the best position possible to get everything you can get out of your life. And I want to be there to celebrate every success you have."

She hugged him tighter and kissed him. "Well, if life is a game, then...I've already won. Because I have the best prize I could ever ask for."

He blushed again and smiled. He was unable to contain his pride. "Aww Star..." They shared yet another kiss, still embracing. "So...what do you want to do now?"

She pondered the question for a moment. She certainly wasn't up to go _aga__in _right away, but there was something about this intimacy they didn't quite want to end yet. Or at least that's what she thought until the loud roar of her empty stomach distracted them both. "I could go for some dinner, I guess."

"Ooh, I have an idea!" He said, eagerly sitting up. "Why don't we throw on our robes, order room service, rent a movie, and just chill out in the living room?"

"Sounds good to me. Any preference?"

"Hmm...how does pizza sound?"

"You can order that with room service?"

"You can order _anything_ with room service! What toppings would you like?"

"Good question..." A question she had no real answer for.

"I don't think you've ever tried _bacon_ on a pizza."

Her eyes perked up, glistening with lust. "Bacon? On a pizza?"

"Uh-huh. We could also get sausage."

"Sausages?!"

"Pepperoni?"

"Oh my gosh, stop it, you're making me drool!" She was gushing over the possibilities. What could they possibly do?

* * *

Their solution: two extra large pizza pies - one with just lots of extra cheese on it, and one with extra cheese, sausage, pepperoni, _and_ bacon all over it. Boy were they ready to pig out. They set themselves up in the living room with the two pies right next to their bean bag chairs, picked out a nice comedy to riff on, and readied themselves for the most relaxing, kick-back night they could ask for.

Star opened up one of the pizza boxes, revealing the pie with all of the toppings on it. "Ooooooooh..." Her mouth watered at the sight. It was a gigantic pie, with each slice dripping in cheese & meat. "This is the most beautiful pie I have ever seen."

"Majestic, isn't it?" Marco remarked, getting himself cozy in his beanbag chair with his plate in hand. "Would you be a dear and grab me a slice?" He flirtatiously asked.

"Why certainly my little mulberry." She coyly responded, taking his plate, grabbing a slice of it, and handing it back to him.

"You still want to make that name work, don't you?"

"Hey, if I'm going to have a cool pet name, you should too, right?" She said as she grabbed herself a slice.

"_Bubble Butt_ isn't really what I would call a pet name, though..."

"Well _I_ do. What, you want me to lie about it?" They shared another laugh as they embraced in a snuggle. The laughter died quickly, as a new thought entered Star's mind. "Um...do we...do we tell our folks about this?"

He slowly turned his head away from her, staring off into space, then turning back to her. "I...d-do you _want_ to-"

"I don't know. Look, we didn't _plan_ for any of this to happen, right?"

"R-Right..."

"We just wanted to get away and relax & crash for two weeks, a-and all of this just..._happened_. We didn't intend for it to happen..." Her voice was starting to quiver. "What if we find out a-and...and they're not happy with us? O-Or they say we can't see each other anymore? A-Are we betraying their trust?"

He sighed, but kept a smile on his face. "It's not that simple. Star, do you really think our folks didn't go through something like this when they were teenagers? _Everyone_ goes through something like this at some point. Some go through it sooner than us, and some go through it later."

"They do?"

"Yeah! A-And to be honest, it's not like _my_ folks would be...going into this with us blind."

"What does that mean?"

"Remember when we spent out first night together? You know, back when magic still hadn't been destroyed and we were both kinda sick and all?"

She remembered that ordeal quite well. All of the good and the bad. "Yes..."

"Well right before I came to visit you in your room I...kinda let it slip to my parents that my feelings for you were growing."

"Oh, really?" She smiled. "What did they say?"

"They were really cool about it, actually. I mean I didn't give them a lot of details because...honestly at that point I wasn't entirely sure how my feelings for you were changing, but they did tell me that it was better to put it out there and figure it out between us than to keep it in and hope it went away. And they also said to 'be responsible' with you, whatever that means. I don't know what they thought they were referring to, but...yeah."

"Awww, I love your folks." She gushed. "But what about my parents? I doubt they'd be cool with all of this?"

"I'm not gonna lie...there's a chance they won't be." She grimaced slightly and looked at the floor. "Would it make you regret this happening if that turns out to be true?"

She shot up quickly without hesitation. "Oh gosh, no! Not at all. It was wonderful and I'm so glad we got to go through with it. I don't regret it, even...even if my parents don't approve."

"Well we still have a week of vacation left. We don't _have _to decide right now what to do. We can sleep on it."

"That sounds like a good idea. We don't need any negative vibes derailing our fun. We know what we have and we're not about to give that up."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." They embraced in a passionate kiss & hug. "I love you Star Butterfly."

"I love _you_, Marco Diaz."

The rest of their night was spent watching & riffing on movies in the comfort of their hotel, gorging on delicious pizza, making small talk about all things interesting & hilarious, and all around having a splendid time. It was their own little world. Completely divorced from the troubles they had endured for so long. If this were the last day of their vacation, they'd both agree that it was a pretty amazing note to end on. Luckily for them, though, they still had a week of vacation left and they were going to take advantage of every second they had.

**End of Chapter 11!**

**Yeah a little bit shorter than normal but not like I'm giving you nothing to hold on to, right? Not gonna lie, this one was really fun to write. And I can't wait to see what comes next.**

**As always, please remember to read & review! :)**


	12. Introspective Inverse

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Introspective Inverse**

**Original Postdate: September 18, 2019**

* * *

**Day 7**

Day Seven. Officially the halfway mark of their getaway. Though if you asked the two of them, they'd probably tell you they'd been on vacation for a month. Time didn't seem to matter to them. So how did they start this day? If you asked Marco, this would be how he started _every _day he spent with Star.

He awoke at around 8:30 AM, peering over at his slumbering girlfriend. Head on the pillow, body snug under the blankets; she looked so comfortable, so peaceful. Both were still in their robes. Just their robes. You would have never known what had taken places just hours prior. He gently kissed her forehead and stepped out of bed, heading to the kitchen to prepare a nice breakfast surprise for her.

That surprise breakfast being: a sausage, egg, & cheese sandwich on a buttered bagel and a warm glass of chocolate milk. Simple, but tasty. He cooked a second one for himself. He then found a nearby portable table and brought it into the bedroom, placing it right next to the edge closest to Star, following soon after with their breakfast. He sat it down carefully, then returned to the bed where he climbed in slowly and wrapped his arms around the sleeping girl and cuddled as gently as he could.

A few more minutes of blissful sleep passed before Star began to stir around. Opening her eyes, her vision settled on the plate of breakfast right next to the she deduced that it was Marco's doing. However, instead of going to take a bite out of it, she turned to her other side to face the sleeping boy, planting a gentle kiss on lips, which turned into a more passionate one once Marco opened his eyes & realized what was going on. "Morning, baby girl."

"Ooh I like that. _Baby girl_. It's sweet." She giggled, kissing him again. "It's better being called a baby girl than feeling like one, if that makes sense. They're helpless, I mean."

"Well you're definitely cuter than a baby, that's for sure."

"D'awww, you..." Another kiss. "I see you made us breakfast."

"Yes I did. It's a sausage, egg, & cheese sandwich inside a buttered bagel."

"Ooooohhh...sounds delicious _and_ greasy!"

"I'll say! Figured we could go a bit lighter today after so much pigging out yesterday."

"You always know just what to do, Diaz. So, you hungry?"

"Hmmm..." He gave that question a ponder. "I am...but _not_ for the food, if you catch my drift."

She briefly didn't, raising an eyebrow, but it didn't take too long for her to read between the lines. She purred flirtatiously in response. "Look at you go. I _love_ this Marco Diaz. So confident, so sure of himself, so assertive."

"What can I say? You rubbed off on me."

"I knew I would." And yet another kiss. "You sure you want to go?"

"Why not? We're both here, we're both nuts, and it was amazing last time, so what do we have to lose?"

"Well then come get my tush, it's waiting for you." She smiled warmly, backing off slightly to allow him to set himself up with protection. Once he was ready, they proceeded, removing their robes & letting nature take its course.

* * *

After their latest escapade wrapped up, they had their breakfast. Breakfast in bed, no less. During this time they discussed what they could do for the day.

"I can't believe we've been here a week." Star said in amazement after chewing a bite of her food. "Feels like a month, honestly."

"However long it's been, it's been the best time of my life." He replied. "Because I'm getting to do all of this with the coolest person I've ever known."

"You are a sweetheart." She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "Everything about this vacation has been _perfect_. Okay, you gotta tell me: _how_ in the heck are you swinging all of this?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Yes it is." She lifted her head slightly to stare into his eyes. "Look, I feel weird enough about all of this and my own self-loathing isn't helping matters, but...I don't want to ever feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"But you're not. Besides this was _my_ idea. It was _my_ gift to you, and I'd do it again."

"Okay but you're not actually answering my question."

He shook his head and sighed. "Will you drop this if I tell you?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Well..._yeah_, because then I would have the information that I _want_? Do you...not know how this works?"

Silence for a brief moment, leaving both to contemplate the word spoken. It resulted in both of them breaking out into laughter and then embracing & kissing. "Alright, alright, but only to get you to back off about it."

"Talk, mister." She smirked playfully.

"You remember that whole Princess Turdina thing?"

"You mean the stuff that got its own toyline and nets you a $650 royalty check every month-"

"Uhhhh, yeah, about that...that's not actually true..."

Her mind immediately went into worst-case-scenario mode. What if they _didn' _have enough to pay for everything? "Marco..."

"Don't go into "worst-case-scenario" mode, please..."

"Too late."

"See, it's actually _more_ than that."

"What if we have to stiff this place of the...what was that?"

"Yeah, it's actually a _lot_ more than that. I just give myself $650 of spending money every month while I wait for the next check."

She blinked twice, initially speechless. "Really? Huh...but why 650? That's such a random number." He shrugged in response. "And how much _do_ you get every month?" He took out a piece of paper & pen and started scribbling on it, giving his writing to Star once he finished. Her eyes bulged at the number on the paper. "_Wooooow._ That sounds like a lot."

"It is. Well, at least for an almost-16-year-old."

"So _that's_ how you've been able to swing all of this."

"Oh yeah, I've been saving up money every month since the beginning for something like this. And don't worry, we're _nowhere_ in danger of running out of money. You shouldn't even be thinking about that."

"I'm sorry. I just worry is all. I shouldn't be, but I'd feel awful if you went broke and blew all your money on me. It's a stupid thing, _I know_, but-"

"Star, be honest: have this vacation been fun for you?"

"Fun? Marco, this is the best time I've ever had! After the year and change you and I have had, we needed this."

"_You_."

"_We,_ Marco. _Maybe_ I needed it more than you but c'mon, stop discounting all the crap _you_ went through for me."

He looked away from her sheepishly. "You know, you're always so worried about everyone else..."

"Yeah yeah, I know, I don't know how to put myself first. _You_ try having to put your entire personal life on the back burner to tend to the burdens of royalty and running an entire kingdom." The boy said nothing in response; he merely nodded along. She loudly sighed. "I'm still trying to adjust to "normalcy," I'm really not used to it."

"You'll get there."

"And really, is there _anything_ normal about us? Not that I don't love being weird & silly with you, but...think about it, we have an entire mish-mash of worlds waiting for us when we get back home. It's...gonna be weird. Can we all coexist together?"

"You heard your folks, things back home seem to be going well. And Buff Frog's really stepped up to lead the charge in your absence."

She smiled hearing that. "That's true. And I'm glad to hear that. Maybe this means I won't have to take on so much in helping the transition..."

"Maybe I misinterpreted what they were saying, but from my perspective, it sounded like they weren't going to let you take on _any_ of the burden. Or at least, not as much as you had to take on with Eclipsa."

"Aww, that's sweet of them, but I _do_ want to help. It _was_ us that caused the cleaving, after all, even if it was a complete accident."

"I understand. But that's a ways out from now."

"Yeah...don't tell anyone I said this, but I'm not exactly looking forward to going home all that much."

"You mean because of us? Or the cleaving?"

She hesitated, taking another bite of her breakfast & a sip of her chocolate milk. "Both, kinda. I mean I love spending this time with you. We're gonna have each other non-stop for two whole weeks. That's awesome. But then we'll probably have to put that aside for a bit to try and re-acclimate with the world we've created. A-And maybe I won't have to take on the majority of the work but I'll still likely be involved somehow."

"...and you're not looking forward to that, are you?"

She shook her head lightly. "Not really. Don't get me wrong, I _love_ grandma Eclipsa, I-I think she got screwed over and all she wanted to do was have a family & fall in love. And I don't _regret_ my choice to give her back the throne that she had stolen from her, but..." She lied down under the blankets but kept her gaze away from his. "Working as her adviser to try and make her a proper queen was like my own personal hell." She started rubbing her arm unconsciously in distress again. "I was on my feet like _all the time_ with her, constantly having to run after her or to keep things in the kingdom going, I _barely_ slept at all, and I pushed you and Tom away while getting wrapped up in all of the political bulls-"

"Star..." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which instantly quieted her. "You did your best. Everyone's said that. Everyone knows you ran yourself exhausted, and nobody is mad at you for anything. Well, nobody except for _you_, I guess." She said nothing in response. She couldn't drum anything up to say. "Is this why everything bothers you so much? Like...your breakup with Tom?" Her eyes darted right up to his. "Yeah, he...he kind of off-handedly mentioned your..._meltdown_ with him in the hospital wing."

She looked away. Oh boy here came another awkward conversation that she knew she would have to have eventually. "Look, I..."

"It's _okay_, you can talk to me."

"I..." She then hugged him out of nowhere and pecked his cheek, almost as a sort of apology for what was coming. "I don't regret breaking up with him, I just regret the why and how, you know? I screwed up with him. I screwed up _a lot_. I wasn't nearly the attentive or affectionate girlfriend that he deserved. I kept stringing him along because I couldn't get over you. I never really took his feelings into consideration on things, a-and he was _so_ patient with me. He had no reason to me, he could've left me at any time and heck he _SHOULD HAVE_ left me a lot sooner than he did. I'm surprised he's not resentful of me for the way I treated him."

"Now you're talking stupid. He knows what you were going through, he _knows_ how exhausted you were. It wasn't ideal but it's not like you were trying to be malicious."

"And that just magically makes it okay?" The self-loathing had returned, though her voice remained calm & collected. At least the rage was gone. "No it doesn't. Tom should be _way_ more angry at me than he is. Everyone should be, including _you._"

"Me?"

"Yeah, _ you! _Come on, don't you feel _any_ resentment towards me for how I jerked you around all that time? You came to Mewni for _me._ You spent so much time derping around for _me_. And I couldn't even be bothered to bring up my confession to you at any point in time. _You_ had to remind me of it in that damn photo booth." She loudly sighed. Thankfully her self-harm urges had mostly subsided, though now it was a matter of eliminating her self-hatred & guilt. "_Why_ do these thoughts keep invading me when everything's starting to look up for us?" He said nothing. "I guess I was just so physically exhausted from _everything_ that I never realized how emotionally wrecked I am."

"Why do you want everyone around you to be angry at you for this stuff? Do you...do you think it'll make it less awkward for you to be angry with yourself?"

His question clearly touched a nerve, though in a quick moment of introspection, she couldn't really blame him for it: he wasn't wrong. "Maybe..."

"Look, you can't change your past. You shouldn't want to, either. Sure, some of the things you've done aren't things to necessarily be proud of, but if they never happened, you never would've learned from them, and we wouldn't have ended up where we are today."

She smiled with an eye roll. "I guess you have a point...but I still feel weird & icky about this stuff."

"I know, and I wish you wouldn't."

"I really don't know how to let things go...at least when it's stuff I'm guilty of."

"You'd be surprised how common that is."

She chuckled as he kissed her cheek. "I just can't get over this idea that 'I'm not doing enough."

"With what, though?"

"Everything. With you, with my friends, my family, Tom, the monsters..." The cheek kiss now turned into a full on make out.

"Trust me when I say this, you _are_ doing enough. More than you should be. The monsters aren't going to forget everything you've done for them, the way you tirelessly went to bat for them. You're their hero. You're our hero. You're..." He hesitated, catching himself before he unconsciously spilled all of his beans. Her head was already turned towards him, though, so out with the truth. "You're _my_ hero."

Her eyes _and_ her mouth shot open. She was completely speechless, unable to form words, though tears began forming in her eyes. "W-What did you say...?"

He closed his eyes & sighed, while hers continued swelling with tears."Star, you're the strongest person I've ever known. For you to shoulder the burdens you had to and to embrace the pressures of royalty and keeping a kingdom running...I can't even begin to imagine what you put yourself through. Not even with the Eclipsa stuff, just..._everything_. And you stayed strong throughout _all _of it. Even when you screwed things up, you always kept trying to be better and do right by everyone, especially when the monarchy was against it. I don't think I'd ever be strong enough to shoulder all of that, and you did it basically your entire life. You're a hero. You're _my_ hero. And I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

By this point any rhyme or reason that was still lurking in Star's head had completely vanished in a blur of tears. She looked completely hysterical, despite the tears being of the joy variety. She lunged at him - nearly knocking over their trays of food - and started to smother him with so many kisses that it was almost suffocating. Tears were flying all over the place. "M-M-Marco!" She blubbered hysterically. "T-That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me!" It was a happy crying, but a crying nonetheless. The boy embraced her and stroked her hair, cooing and reassuring her. "Is...Is that why you want to spoil me silly on this trip?"

He hesitantly nodded. "Well, part of it, at least."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but jeez this vacation must be a living hell for you having to cater to _me_ for this long."

"Living hell? Cater? Okay, I take it back: **_now _**you're talking stupid." He wiped some tears from her eyes and kissed her forehead. "Star this has been an incredible vacation for me. I've had so much fun here with you. We went to an amusement park, we had a nice dinner & dance, we played paintball, we've played video games, we have a spa date coming up...if _that's_ hell, then I can't wait to see what heaven's like."

Her blubbering calmed considerably, but the tears were still falling. "But I'm not doing anything for you."

"Yes you are. You're here with me, you're being cute & affectionate with me, and you're having fun. That's _all_ I want."

"But you deserve _more_."

He sighed and shook his head. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" She furiously shook her head. "Alright, look, would you feel better if you felt like you were doing stuff for me? So we'd be 'even' so to speak?" She nodded furiously. He sighed rather frustratingly. "Alright, fine, but _just_ for today. Do you understand?"

"You know I'm going to fight you on that, right?"

"Yes, I know..."

"Good." She kissed him once more before rubbing her hands together victoriously. "Alright!" She tried to put on a brave, happy face for him. But it was blatantly obvious that all of this was still bothering her. And in so many different ways that she couldn't even contemplate it. "So, _you're_ in charge today. _You_ run the show. We do what _you_ want to do. Don't worry about any logistical or financial concerns or whatever. You name it, you got it."

He sat there silently, refusing to say anything. What could he possibly say to her? She was _hellbent_ on doing this. Hellbent on not feeling like a burden. Hellbent on feeling like she was actually contributing to both society and to her relationship. The self-hatred may not have been as frequent or even as bad as it once was, but it could still be torturous when it wanted to be. "Do you want me to be honest?" He asked; she nodded. "I...I was kinda thinking we could take it a little easy today. You know, lounge around the room, just hang out, maybe take a nap, and then go see a movie later. But that's...not going to satiate you, is it?"

She sat there silently, not moving or even breathing. Finally a loud sigh of discontent. "I won't lie, that sounds _really_ fun for today."

"But it's not what you had in mind, is it?"

She looked away, even resisting his touch a little. "To be perfectly honest I don't even know what the hell I had in mind. I just-" He carefully wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, gently pecking her lips. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?" He gently caressed her hair while nodding. "I'm sorry."

"Hey...I told you, this doesn't get fixed overnight. It's a _looong_ slog to get to the light at the end of the tunnel. You're doing a great job but you gotta stop beating yourself up. And you especially need to stop thinking you're doing something wrong when you're _not_. You're doing _everything_ you're supposed to with everything."

She couldn't muster any words, only solemn nods.

"Besides it's not like you haven't done anything for me. You cooked breakfast for me - twice."

"Does that really count since I technically burned the first meal?"

"Of course it does. If you're not failing, you're not trying. Not to mention...if it weren't for you I wouldn't have found it so easy or satisfying to embrace my own body and sexuality."

"R-Really?"

He nodded happily. "I've grown _so much_ over the past year. None of it would've happened without you." More tears swelled for her, though now tears of pride. "How about this: How about today we just chill & go to the hotel movie lounge later for some fun? And then tomorrow we can get a fresh start and you can "spoil me" or "treat me" or however you want to call it, and I'll play along for the whole day. How does that sound?"

She pondered the offer. Incredibly tempting, but...artificial, to a extent. It would still be Marco's money she'd be using. "I don't know...I mean I _want_ to - you totally deserve it - but it's _not_ my money we'd be using-"

"I told you that's not an issue. Once we get home I'll help you find a part-time job so you can start saving your own money if you want. For now, we're here to have fun. That's all."

Another sigh from her. "I know."

He brought her in for yet another hug. "I love you, Star. You're trying so hard and you're doing _so_ well. Be proud of yourself. _I'm _proud of you."

She returned the hug, holding him tighter than she'd ever held anything in her life. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Let's just take today to chill and go see a movie later."

"That sounds _perfect_."

So they cleared the bed of their food trays & dishes, snuggled back under the blankets, and embraced each other. The hugging didn't cease for the longest time. It was always a comfort to have someone beside you, rooting for you to achieve everything you wanted in life. And they were never going to let that slip away.

* * *

Later that evening, the two dressed themselves and made their way down to the hotel movie theater, signed themselves up for the evening program, and entered the room. Inside there were about a dozen and a half other people standing around chit-chatting, waiting for the event to start. On one of the tables was a pamphlet laying out the night's lineup. "Ooh, looks like we've lucked out. It's a double feature tonight."

"Ooh, we're getting two movies?"

"Yup. Two for the price of one."

"Nice. What are we watching?"

He skimmed the pamphlet. "Looks like we're in for a horror flick and a...romantic comedy."

"Sounds like fun!" Up against one of the walls was a table full of movie refreshments - i.e. candy, popcorn, fountain drinks, etc - all-you-can-eat style. There was a _ton_ of food and drink for them to gorge on. "Marco, _look_ at all this!" She reached for one of the bags of popcorn, some candy, and a beverage. Marco followed suit. "We should be all good to go for tonight."

A young-looking gentleman came through the room and made his way towards the front where the TV was. "Attention, folks, our double feature will be beginning shortly! Please grab your refreshments and take your seats. And bring your best material!"

"Material?"

"I think he means jokes." Marco said.

So everyone grabbed their food & took their seats. The first movie was turned on. It was in fact a horror flick...and a pretty terrible one. The crowd wasted no time in throwing their commentary.

"_Don't split up! Bad things happen when you split up!"_

_"Don't drop the breadcrumbs on the ground! They won't lead you back home!"_

_"Your puns aren't as funny as you think they are!"_

Even Star managed to get in the fun. "Look out behind you! Get off your stinkin' phone and pay attention, valley girl!"

"Forget it, she's gone. Slice her head off!" Now it was Marco's turn. The entire room was filled to the brim with ruckus riffing & laughter from pretty much everyone involved.  
He went to grab a handful of popcorn, only to realize he was out.

"Want me to go grab you some more?" Star offered. He reluctantly nodded his head, and off she went to get him some more - as well as some candy for herself. She returned to a big kiss.

"Thanks, sweetie."

She nodded & smiled. "I'm doing good."

He hesitated, but followed with his own big grin. "You sure are, Star." He bear-hugged her, smothering her cheek with kisses. Star was prone to enjoying the, but then got distracted by the ongoing movie.

"He's coming behind you, don't make any noise! No, what are you doing!?"

"_Why do the **dumb** ones always survive the longest in these movies!?"_

"Because life is unfair!"

The remainder of the movie was pretty much that: non-stop riffing and jokes flying from the group, having the time of their lives mocking the film in front of them. When the film finally ended, applause erupted from the crowd, while a brief intermission followed to allow them to stand, stretch, and grab more refreshments.

"So what do you think?" Marco asked his girlfriend. "Is this a fun time or what?"

"The _best_!" Star replied. "These people are awesome, and this food is delish! You made a good call with this, Diaz."

"Do I know you or do I know you?" He wrapped her in his arms & kissed her again.

"You know me well. But do you know what I also know?"

"What's that?"

She started to blush. "I know I'm starting to feel a little _frisky_." She purred. "How about after the next movie we go back to the room and have ourselves some bonus fun?"

"You got yourself a plan, Butterfly."

Everyone was called back to their seats for the start of the next film. This time, it was the romantic comedy, and there sure were plenty of riffs flying from everyone.

_"He's just not into you, get over it!"_

_"You don't stalk him in his yard, you stalk him on the internet! **Everyone **knows that!"_

Just like before, Star & Marco got in on the action quickly & never relented. "He's toying with your feelings, you idiot!" Star shouted to the screen. "Ugh, are _all_ girls this dumb?"

"I can assure you they are not." Marco responded to her. "Usually it's us guys that are dumb." He turned back to the screen. "She's the bad guy, you dunce! Don't get a ring for her!"

"Girl if you liked him the first time you should've put a ring on him, but you didn't!"

The movie playing got Star to contemplate her own relationship with Marco. They started off on uneven footing, then became fast friends. Then they became rocks for each other. Then she got a crush on him. Then Marco started dating Jackie. Then the Toffee thing, telling him how she felt before abruptly leaving, then having him chase her back to Mewni only to go back to dating Tom...all of these thoughts were rushing through her head and it was slowly - slowly - draining her enthusiasm for the movie. Not to the point of any potential outburst, but certainly noticeable enough to garner Marco's attention. "Are you okay?" He asked her. This snapped her out of her deep funk and got her to turn to him.

"Huh...y-yeah, totally. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I mean I think this movie's just got me thinking about...stuff...again. But I promise I'm good." She smiled warmly, resting her head against his arm and pecking it with a kiss. He caressed her hair.

"If you're sure. We can leave any time if you want to."

"Nah, no need. Really." Once again, the action on the movie screen diverted her attention. "She's been lying to you this whole time, you moron! How can you be _that_ blind!?"

Like the Star of old, she wasted no time in getting over whatever was bothering her and focusing on the fun & funny of today. It warmed his heart to see her making these strides. It was exactly what this vacation intended, and while it wasn't always a straight path upward for recovery & relaxation, it _was_ happening. Slowly, but surely.

And there was _still_ a week's worth of vacation yet to come.

**End of Chapter 12!**

**A bit of a warning, but updates going forward are _probably_ going to come slower than they have just due to the nature of my home life becoming hectic as all hell. I say _probably _because I've thought that would be the case in the past and it hasn't yet, but if updates start to slow down significantly going forward, you'll know why.**

**Anyways, as always, please read & review! Any constructive criticism is appreciated! :)**


	13. Role Reversal

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Role Reversal**

**Original Postdate: September 25, 2019**

* * *

**Day 8**

Today was going to prove to be quite an interesting one. Per their "gentleman's agreement," Marco was to be in charge of the day, meaning he got to pick what they did. Admittedly, while he wasn't entirely on board with that idea, he wanted to placate his struggling girlfriend & help her on her path to recovery, and he believed pacifying her like this would help.

As the "frontrunner" of this day, so to speak, Star tasked herself with cooking Marco breakfast. Once again, she went the pancake route, though this time, she succeeded in cooking the chocolate chips _into_ the pancake batter. Huzzah! Success! Once she finished, she brought a table into the bedroom and set the plate of pancakes down on his side before climbing into bed with him again and embracing him. It didn't matter to her that she'd have to wait to show off her good work: she was just happy to be with him. She was happy to be with someone that did all they could to make her feel loved every single chance that they got.

Eventually he began to stir around, slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. She took notice of this and pecked his forehead with a kiss, embracing him tighter. "Star?"

She smiled upon hearing his voice. "Morning sleepy head."

He immediately returned the hug, no hesitation. "You really like hugs."

"I do. They're so warm & comforting."

"Nothing wrong with that." His eyes took his vision to the edge of the bed to see the tray of food waiting for him. "Is that for me?"

She nodded furiously. "And I even cooked the chocolate chips in right this time."

"Ooh, did you?" She got off of him and allowed him to sit up so he could get a better view. He took the fork, dug into the pancake, and took a bite out of it. His eyes lit up like a diamond. "You sure did! Wow! Way to go, Star!"

"I did it!" She shouted victoriously. "The Day of Marco is off to a great start!" He couldn't help but laugh. Here she was beaming like she'd never smiled before, proud of herself for doing something as simple as cooking breakfast. It was honestly beautiful. But not nearly as beautiful as she looked in that narwhal dress she was wearing. "What?" She noticed him staring intently at her, which snapped him back to reality.

"OH, uh, nothing. It's...that dress." He smiled warmly. "That's the dress you wore when we kissed in that shed. When we...we finally got together."

Star didn't even realize the implications of her dress. It was just another outfit to her. The fact that he held such fond memories of her wearing it only made it more special. "You're...you're right."

"I-I really like how it looks on you. You look gorgeous in that dress."

Her face was bright red. "Marco..."

"You look gorgeous in everything but...t-that dress is a little extra special to me."

She couldn't help herself. She lunged at him & planted her lips on his. Luckily he swallowed his pancake before she kissed him. "Marco you are such a sweetheart."

"I try." She wrapped her arms around him as he took more bites of his breakfast. He couldn't help but notice the increased affection from her. Clingy much? "You _really_ like hugs."

"Yeah I'm sorry about that. It's nice having a best friend that likes to hug you as much as you like to hug them."

"I feel that." He put his fork down momentarily & returned her hug. "I love you, Star."

"I love you too." He returned to eating his food while she clasped her hands together in anticipation. "Okay! So what do you want to do today? You're running the show today, Marco! Your wish is my command!"

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Only because you're _insisting_."

"I am."

"Hmm...well there _is_ an arcade near that amusement park we went to earlier this week."

"What's an arcade?"

"It's a place that holds games where you can win prizes & stuff. It's like a carnival, only indoors."

"Interesting. And it sounds like fun. You wanna do that?"

"You bet your cute butt I do!"

She blushed and playfully gasped. "Why Marco, I never thought you would notice."

"Not like you make it hard for me to notice."

"Take a picture, Diaz, it'll last longer." She sarcastically teased, getting the both of them laughing. "I'll leave you to your breakfast." She said as she got off the bed and started to head out, only to be stopped by him.

"Wait!" He said loudly. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. He pointed to above his head. He wanted her to wear her gift crown. Unamused, she rolled her eyes and sighed, but obliged, fetching the crown from the closet and putting it on her head just behind her horns.

"Anything else, Mr. Diaz?" She playfully smirked.

"As a matter of fact..." He held up one of his hands, palm facing in, to illustrated his point. He even wiggled his ring finger to further emphasize. _That_ finally got her attention.

"But...you don't-"

"You want me to be in charge, right?"

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat as a wide smile crossed her face. "Are...Are you sure?" He nodded. She went towards the closet and got out the small red box containing the promise rings, bringing it over to the bed. They opened it and each took a ring. Just the act of doing this brought her nearly to happy tears. "Thank you, Marco."

"Anything for my butterfly." He went to kiss her cheek, but she intercepted it and turned it into a full-on make-out session. "Wait a minute, what about _you?_ What did you have for breakfast?"

"Oh don't you worry about me." She snuck in a bite of Marco's pancakes in the midst of this. "I can handle myself. Today is _your_ day."

"Alright, if you insist."

* * *

Later that day, after Marco and Star had finished breakfast, they headed out to the arcade that was near the amusement park they visited earlier on their trip - the "_Chumley & Friends Fun Zone."_ Under their little "gentleman's agreement," Star would be using money that Marco was loaning her for the day, but they'd both pretend that it was her treat for him. Even with this in mind, Marco still needed to show her how everything worked. This particular arcade used "play cards" - cards that stored a virtual currency on it that were used to pay for the arcade games. The more real money you spent on them, the more virtual currency you were allotted per card.

"So...we're spending _real_ money to buy _fake_ money just to play games?" Star surmised.

"Right. And you get to earn tickets from those games which you use to buy prizes."

"So it's _one_ form of money to get _another_ form of money to get a _third_ form of money just to win prizes..."

"...Yup."

Star blinked at him silently for a moment. "Marco why is Earth dumb sometimes?" He shrugged, which got a laugh from her.

There was also a second option for them to take: the "infinite play card" - cards that got them unlimited access to all games for the day without having to refurbish their virtual currency. Of course, it was the most expensive option, but likely the option Marco would ask Star to pick.

They approached the front counter. "Welcome to Chumley & Friends' Fun Zone! Would you like to buy a play card today?" The clerk asked; Star & Marco both nodded. "What'll it be?"

She hesitated to answer. "Uhh..."

"We'll take two limitless play cards today, please." Marco spoke up for her. Stunned, she turned to him.

"Marco are you sure?" She asked him. He nodded again, nudging her to hand him the money in her hand, which she did so. They received two small, brown cards in exchange.

"Here you go. Enjoy!"

"Thanks!" Marco grabbed her hand gently and led her into the next room - the arcade - where all the games were. The room itself was massive, with a few dozen machines & games scattered all throughout. Everything from skill cranes to skeeball to dancing games to snowboarding games, etcetera. It was all here. It was complete with a booth near the other side of the room that had a mountain of prizes to be won. Star's mouth was almost watering at the size & scope of the room.

"Whoa..."

"Nice, huh?"

"So we can play _all_ of these games today?"

"If you want to."

"Oh I think I do." She started maniacally rubbing her hands together. "What should we do first?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what game do you want us to play?"

"Uh, you _do_ know that we don't have to be tethered to the hip for this, right?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Um, what?"

"We _can_ split up and do our own thing. We can play the games _we_ want to play. Let's face it, I doubt we're both going to be interested in playing all of the same games at the same time, right?"

She pondered his logic. Curse him for making so much sense. "You have a point."

"Plus, if we get lost you have your burner phone on you, right?"

"Uh huh."

"_And_ once you get enough tickets, you can surprise me when a prize from the prize hall if you really want to. Right?"

"Ooh, prizes!" She gleefully cheered. The joy was brief though as a frown crossed her face. "But I don't _wanna_ split up. I wanna watch you play all the games and win all the prizes." An awkward silence followed. "...I'm being clingy, aren't I?"

"Uhh...y-n-maybe?"

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I understand why, and to be honest...I really like how you want to be so close to me. But we'd just be splitting up to have some fun with games, right? It's just for a little bit."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm being silly."

He kissed her cheek and hugged her. "Go nuts. Enjoy yourself. Besides, after this it'll be time for lunch."

"Ooh, that's right. What're you in the mood for?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, I'll let you know when I think of it."

"Deal." They planted a kiss and went their separate ways, skimming the whole room to find the best & most fun games to play for themselves.

* * *

The next couple of hours passed by relatively easy for them. Star managed to find herself entranced by multiple games: the Dance-Dance-Revolution-esque game, winning a couple of rounds herself, the "magical girl anime" game that saw her use a stick as a wand to fight enemies, and the "Pac-Man" game, controlling a Pac-Man like character & chomping at food while avoiding enemy ghosts. Her pile of tickets rose in almost no time.

As for Marco, he found himself enthralled with Skeeball, a "Skill Crane" game (that he was quite terrible at), and a zombie survival game that saw him use a toy gun to shoot at zombies. His stack of tickets also rose at an alarming rate. They were both very good at games, especially when they didn't have to play directly against each other.

After some more time passed, Star & Marco reunited near the prize booth to assess their status. They were both having difficulties carrying their enormous amounts of tickets in their hands. "Wow, look at you!" Marco immediately called attention to her pile. "You did great!"

"Speak for yourself!" Star responded. "How many tickets did you win?"

"I have no idea, I stopped counting a long time ago!"

"Totes same. You think we have enough for some prizes?"

"Let's find out."

So they made their way to the prize booth. Their first order of business was deciding how they wanted to divvy up the prizes. They settled on pooling their tickets together & splitting the prizes. But before they could continue their train of thought, they found themselves distracted at the fact that the guy running the prize booth was a former Quest Buy sloth clerk.

"Welcome to the prize booth..." He spoke in his normal slow, slurring voice. "Before you pick out your prizes, let's count up your tickets..."

"Hey..." Star interrupted. "Didn't you used to work at Quest Buy?"

"Me? No...you must have me confused for some of my brothers..."

"Brothers?"

"We're octuplets."

"Of course you are." Marco said under his breath while he & Star handed him their tickets, which he proceeded to count up. The final tally: 20,000 tickets. In an arcade where the most expensive prizes ran for about half of that total, that was an impressive feat. Upon hearing their total, Star & Marco high-fived each other. Now came the hard part: deciding on what prizes they wanted.

"Well, go on Mr. Diaz." Star playfully smirked at him.

"What's that?"

"It's _your_ day. You get first dibs."

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the display of prizes to pick from. So many choices...many of them not particularly appealing to him. Eventually he decided to start small, picking a fresh pair of nunchucks that cost about 2,000 tickets. Star, while appreciating Marco starting small, was also a bit unimpressed. "What? I could use a new martial arts weapon."

"All of that cool stuff and _that's _your first pick?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought this was _my_ pick." Now he was just teasing her. She shook her head and chuckled.

"I love you Marco, but you can be quite a handful sometimes."

"And _you_ can't?"

"Touche."

The sloth guy handed Marco his nunchucks. "Okay Star, _your_ turn." He told her.

She turned to the prizes, scanning the booth carefully. Like with Marco, many of the prizes didn't really appeal to her. In fact the only prize that truly caught her eye was a small butterfly pin that was right up front in her view. Marco had hoped she would pick a much bigger & more glamorous prize, but he chose to keep his mouth shut as he watched her squeal with joy over the tiny cute butterfly pin. Now each of them had one prize each. Marco had an idea on how to spice up the next batch of prizes.

"You want us to...pick for each other?"

"Yeah, why not?" Marco exclaimed with a smile. "We can surprise each other. It'll be fun."

She hesitated, but eventually nodded in agreement. "You wanna go first?"

"May I?"

She sighed and turned around. "Alright, let's just get this over with."

Marco scanned the various prizes again. Now there was even less available that looked appealing to him, especially now that he was shopping directly for Star. After several moments of contemplation, he disappointingly settled on an ordinary regular-sized teddy bear. He sighed & turned back to her. "Okay, turn around." The disappointment was palpable in his voice.

But when she turned around to face him again, her face beamed. "Aww, look at the widdle bear!" She took it from him and gave him a massive hug. "It's _soooo_ cute!"

Marco breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried there, not going to lie."

"Worried? Why?"

"The prize pool here isn't exactly anything to write home about..."

"I'm standing right here, you know." The sloth said, clearly unamused.

"Oh don't be silly, this is _wonderful_." Star doubled down, hugging the bear again. "I love it."

"Yeah?"

"Of course." She leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Thank you. Okay, my turn!"

Marco rolled his eyes and turned around, leaving Star alone to pick out a prize for him. Still nothing looked particularly appealing...except for one prize, that is: a Princess Turdina figurine, wrapped nicely in its original packaging. She thought he'd appreciate the sentiment. "Lookie!"

Marco turned back around to lay eyes on the Princess Turdina figurine. His eyes lit up. "Whoa, is that a Limited Edition Princess Turdina Figurine? They only made, like, a hundred of those _ever_!" He took the package from her. "Wow...it looks so brand new."

"I knew you'd like it."

He looked up at her, then at the figurine, then back at Star before lunging towards her and hugging her. "Thank you."

She returned it no questions asked. "Anything for you." They both turned back to the prizes on display, and they each came to the same conclusion. "See anything else?"

"Y...Nope."

"Me neither."

"You know..." The sloth spoke up again. "You can take your remaining tickets and exchange them for cash if you're finished choosing prizes."

"Really?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Ooh, let's do that!" Star immediately jumped at it. "I can use whatever that gives us to treat you to lunch."

"Hey, great idea!"

"Prepare to pig out on as much food as we can get for..."

* * *

"...a dollar seventy-three."

Star held the change in her hand and stared at it, clearly annoyed. A brief silence followed before Marco broke it with raucous laughter. She joined in shortly after. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but man I was expecting just a little bit more from this place."

"Eh, who cares? It was still lots of fun, wasn't it?"

"You bet."

"So, you hungry?"

Marco's stomach responded for him, loudly growling. "Um, I think that's a yes."

Star cheered. "Alright, lunchtime! What'cha up for?"

He again raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"It's still your day. Come on, Marco, pick something, I'm starvin' too!"

"Alright, alright, don't get all worked up. I know _exactly_ what I want us to have for lunch."

"Name it!"

* * *

Survey says...

Burritos.

Luckily there was a burrito stand not too far from the arcade where they were able to pick up some nice, pipping hot burritos to enjoy. While not Star's first choice, she ended up having a blast chowing down on her food. "Mmmm...mm-hmm, oh yeah, this is hitting' the spot."

"Can I pick 'em out or what?" Marco smirked playfully.

"I take it you're enjoying yours, too?"

He nodded as he took a big bite out of his own burrito, delightfully tantalizing in taste. "I think these are the best burritos I've had in a long time."

Star nodded in agreement. "Totally. You're hitting all the right notes, Diaz."

"Aww, well I've had a really good host to help make it all happen."

She swallowed her bite, blushed, and smiled. "D'aww, Marco, stop..."

"You feeling better?"

She took a deep breath, contemplated her thoughts, and smiled at him while nodding. "I am. For the most part. I still wish it was truly _me_ treating you to today, but...I appreciate you playing along."

"It's no trouble. I know this is important to you. I...don't understand _why_ it's important to you, but I know it is."

"Well it'll be good practice for me. When we get back home I'm gonna do everything I can so I can stand on my own two feet and be able to be the girlfriend that I _know_ you deserve."

"I promise you you'll get there." He leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. "But you're already a great girlfriend."

"You are so cheesy, but thank you." She let out a sigh of relief and a chuckle. "So...now what do you want to do?"

"Um...I...don't know."

"Well that's not a helpful answer. Come on, Diaz, isn't there _anything_ big you want to do?"

"I-I can't think of anything right now..."

She groaned. "Oh come on."

"It's not a big deal, you know. Today's been a lot of fun, what's wrong with, I don't know, going back to the hotel room and just relaxing? You know, hanging out, do some kissing, do some..._other_ things."

That piqued her attention and turned her face red. "Ooh...but...are you sure?"

He nodded confidently. "I don't care what we do as long as we're doing it together."

"...Even if we're just...snuggling together?"

"Even if we're just snuggling." They both stood up from their seats and lunged into each other's arms, embracing tightly & fueling their bodies with warm love.

* * *

Sure enough, they decided to return to their hotel room and spend their time lying down together on their bed, holding each other in a warm embrace and melting away all of their stress or anxiety. It was beautiful. And she was still wearing her crown & promise ring. "Thanks for putting up with me today." Star said quietly, nuzzling her head against his chest and tightening her embrace. "It meant a lot."

"Anything for you." He said back, kissing the top of her head and caressing her hair. "I hope that this goes a long way to helping you right your ship."

"It was just such a nice day. We got to play some cool games, we won some cheap prizes, we had tasty burritos..." She backed away slightly to raise her view to his glistening eyes. "I wish we could do this every day. I..."

"Wish we didn't have to go home?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth shut. "I...Is that bad of me?"

"...I understand how you feel. I'm having so much fun on this getaway, I-I don't really want it to end either."

She pecked his lips gently and tightened her embrace some more. "Does it have to?"

He sighed, nuzzling his face up against hers. "I'm sorry. But hey, it's not like we can't do this again, right?"

"Wait, really?"

"Oh we're totally going to make this a regular thing. I want it, you deserve it...so why not, right?"

"You think our friends & family would be okay with that?"

He hesitated with his answer. "I...don't know. But I know I'd do anything to make you happy."

"You already make me happy. Getaway or no getaway, being with you makes me the happiest I've ever been. We're an unbeatable team. We're going to conquer our new world together. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me neither." They pulled apart and readjusted themselves on the bed, giving them a clear path to a wonderful kiss. "Oh, you know what tomorrow is?"

She pondered the thought briefly. "Thursday?"

"No. Well, _yes_, but I meant do you remember what we have planned for tomorrow?"

Again a brief ponder, though this time she was far more sure of her answer. "Spa day?"

"Spa day!"

"Whoa, it's here already!? Time really flies, doesn't it?"

"You said it. You ready to get spoiled silly tomorrow?"

"You know it. I've never gotten a spa treatment before."

"Not even as Princess of Mewni."

"Nope. So tomorrow's going to be a lot of fun. Although..." She kissed him again and smiled flirtatiously. "We don't _have_ to wait for tomorrow to spoil ourselves silly."

"Oh?" For a brief moment he couldn't put the pieces together. Then he did, and his reaction was priceless. "Ohhh-ho-ho, okay..."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for your kisses."

"Bring it on, Butterfly."

And so they enriched themselves with each other's lips, lust nearly but not entirely overtaking them. Kissing each other was suddenly a professional sport to them, and they cherished playing it every chance they could. Tomorrow was indeed their long-anticipated spa day. Get out the popcorn & break out the hot tub, it was going to get quite steamy if these two lovebirds could help it.

**End of Chapter 13!**

**Yeah another slightly shorter one than normal but hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Also fair warning, do assume from this point on that updates will be slower than normal. Aside from my home life becoming hectic as all hell for reason I don't want to talk about, I start a new full-time job on September 30th that will significantly reduce my free time. I have no plans to stop writing but it may take a bit more time to complete each chapter going forward. Thanks for understanding.**

**As always, please read & review! :)**


	14. Spa Day Spectacular

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Spa Day Spectacular**

**Original Postdate: September 30, 2019**

* * *

**Day 9**

It had arrived. The highly anticipated Spa Day was upon them. Assuming that everything went according to plan, Star was in for the most relaxing, cathartic day of treatment this getaway had provided yet. The lovebirds dressed themselves, had a nice breakfast, then made their way down to the hotel lobby - with a bag of possible necessities, such as an extra change of clothes and their bathing suits - finding the spa again and entering its main lobby. They entered the place with baited breath as Marco signed them both in, sitting down near some chairs and awaiting their call-in.

"I'm so excited I can barely contain myself." Star was so anxious for their spa day she was jittery all around her seat. "I wonder what they're gonna have for us!"

"I don't know, I've read that each appointment is different. Nobody gets the same treatments twice."

"Sounds mysterious!"

"I still can't believe _you've_ never had a spa day before. You'd think that would be like a given for royalty."

Star shrugged. "Eh, it wouldn't have been as much fun back then anyway."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because you weren't there." She smiled & leaned in for a kiss, which he happily returned.

A woman exited one of the rooms behind the front desk. "Star Butterfly & Marco Diaz? We're ready for you."

Star & Marco both stood up and started walking towards the woman, ready for their special day to begin.

* * *

They were taken into the spa room. At first glance, it appeared to have everything: mud baths, manicures & pedicures, massages...there were even hot tubs at the far end. Despite their previous hiccup with a hot tub, Star & Marco immediately became fixated on that. "Okay, so we have three hours to have ourselves the best spa day ever." Marco told her.

"Ooh, longevity! What should we do first?" She asked.

He smiled & shrugged. "You tell me. What looks good to you?"

She scanned the room, taking quick notes of how everything seemed to operate. "It all looks wonderful...I don't know, I guess we could start small & work our way up?"

"Fine by me. Let's start with the mani-pedis."

"Alright!" They were led to two chairs adjacent with each other, tilted back to lift their feet off the ground. Their shoes and socks were removed. Their hands _and_ feet were dipped in warm water as two workers came over and began treating their hands & feet. "Wow, Marco, this water is sooooo soothing."

"Our hands and feet are going to be soft like a baby's bottom in no time." He said back.

"Don't you mean 'soft like _my_ bottom? Or your bottom?" She unapologetically flirted with him. He went bug-eyed and blushed. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"What have I done with you?"

"You've awoken a beast, Marco. That's what you've done. Not that I'm complaining."

"Me neither." He said with an even stronger blush. While they continued talking, the workers got to work on their manicures and pedicures. Prior to their spa day they were told to choose the color of their nail polish, but both kept their choices a surprise from the other. That would change shortly. "I still can't believe all of this."

"All of what?"

"That I'm even here. Spending two weeks on vacation with the coolest girl I've ever known, someone that I love more than anything in the world, someone that I can't wait to call my wife."

"D'awww, Marco. I love you too. Heck I don't even think saying _that_ does it justice."

"Really?"

"Far as I'm concerned, we're already married. We already act like a married couple, we treat each other like a married couple, we love each other like a married couple..."

"True, true."

"I don't need a silly ceremony or a piece of paper to tell me what I know in my heart is true."

"So you don't want to gussy yourself up in a beautiful wedding gown and have flower pedals thrown in the air when we're declared husband & wife?"

"Well I didn't say _that_." They shared a laugh and a warm smile. The nail polish was brought out for the two of them - Star having purple polish and Marco having pink. "Marco! Pink!?"

"What?" He shrugged and smiled again. "What's wrong with a guy embracing pink, right? It's not just a girl's color."

"Way to go, Marco! I'm so proud of you." She gleefully said as the workers started applying the nail polish on their hands & feet.

"You two from out of town?" One of them started asking.

"Yeah, we're on a getaway." Star explained. "This handsome lad over here is treating me to two weeks of relaxation, fun, love, and all of the wonders this new Earth-Mewni mashup has to offer. He's one of a kind."

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me." He playfully whined.

"I speak the truth." She leaned in as much as her position would allow her to the worker tending to her mani-pedi. "It doesn't hurt that he's a hunk, too." She whispered.

"I heard that!"

"Heard what?" Now she was just messing with him. "Marco that polish looks _gorgeous_ on you."

He observed the polish being applied to his fingernails & toenails, and nodded in agreement. "Thanks Star. But don't sell yourself short. Purple is _definitely_ your color."

"Oh, you."

The workers let out a laugh. "Well, you _are_ right." The worker tending to Marco blurted out.

"About?"

"You two talk like a married couple."

Star & Marco exchanged glances and realized the worker was right, sending them into even more laughter. Their mani-pedis wrapped up shortly after that, giving them time to admire their new glow. Marco in particular loved his new pink polish, while Star adored his admiration for it. "What now?" She eagerly asked.

"How's about a massage?"

"I could go for one. I need to loosen up a bit."

"So do I. Let's do it!"

They brought themselves over to the massage station and were met with two other workers - both female - who enthusiastically welcomed them to the massage area and explained the experience they were about to face. Stripping themselves of their tops (with Star keeping her bra, obviously), they were helped onto their tables, onto their stomachs, and they had a towel cover their lower half. The massage commenced. A single rub into Star's back and she was instantly mesmerized. A deep sigh was heard by all around her. "Oh my gosh, _yes_."

"How is it for you?" Marco asked, also experiencing the same euphoria as Star.

"Just...just _yes_."

"I'm still amazed, I could've sworn you would have this kind of stuff regularly as royalty."

"You know, everything's kind of a blur right now, so maybe I did and I just don't remember it. But _man_ if I did, there's no way it would be as good as this..." She droned in a relaxed tone.

"Royalty?" Star's worker questioned. "Hold the phone, you wouldn't happen to be former princess Star Butterfly, would you?"

She turned her head to the side to look at the worker head on. Eyes half closed, but her focus was on point. "For your information, I'm now going by "Star 'Bubble-Butt' Butterfly." Which made Marco's face go bright red as he failed to hide a laugh. "But yes, I am."

"What an...interesting nickname. Who coined it?"

"_She_ did." Marco emphasized, before giving it some extra thought. "Well, technically I guess _I_ did, but I didn't expect her to run with it so far."

"What can I say, Marco? There's something to being one with your body."

"She's not wrong." Marco's worker said. He groaned.

"Look, could we maybe table this talk until later?"

"What's wrong, Marco? Don't tell me you're suddenly getting cold feet about this girl's bubble butt." Star flirted. Marco chuckled.

"Of course not, it's just...well...this isn't exactly an ideal place for me to get...well, you know..."

He never outright said it, but with stuff like this, Star could read between the lines, darting her eyes from his waist area back to his eyes. "Oh. Ohhhhhh...sorry."

"It's okay. Besides, it's way more fun getting steamy like that in the comfort and privacy of our hotel room."

"Ooh, Diaz, listen to _you_."

"Tell me I'm lying."

"I would but you ain't." She reached one of her hands out towards him, prompting him to do the same.

"So whatcha' up to now that you ain't a princess no more?" Marco's worker asked Star.

"Well, Marco and I are taking this vacation." She happily answered. "I kinda needed a major break from, well, _everything_, and he's been a savior for me on this trip."

"Anything for my little butterfly." He answered back, eliciting "aww's" from the two workers.

"Is this boy special or what?"

"How'd you two meet?" Star's worker asked.

"When I was 14 I was given the family heirloom - the magic wand - and I used it to accidentally set my entire home castle on fire. So my parents exiled me to the Earth dimension because I guess my folks saw Earth humans as expendable at the time."

"Wait, _that's_ why you ended up on Earth?" Marco asked, clearly stunned. It was the story that went untold between them.

"I never told you? I could've sworn I did...oops."

"Wow. That's wild."

"Yup." Star turned back to the workers. "So after that my parents bribed the Echo Creek high school into letting me attend and they had Marco be my school guide or whatever. They called him "the safe kid."

"A label that I _still_ strenuously object to."

"We didn't get along that well at first but after an incident fighting some monsters, we kinda hit it off. And that's..."

"That's when I first got a crush on her." Marco admitted, blushing strongly. "I didn't quite realize it for some time, but...the first time she hugged me..." Star also began blushing, beaming at his recounting of their first meeting. "It felt really warm and...loving."

"Aww, Marco, you teddy bear."

"I guess I'm a sucker for hugs, too." She squeezed his hand as a sign of affection, all she could do given her current position.

"And then after that, everything just kinda...happened. It wasn't without its bumps or obstacles."

"But none of that matters anymore. We're here together _now_." Marco reassured her. "And everything's going to work out great."

She sighed contently. "You're right. I love you."

"I love you too."

It felt as though time wasn't even moving. With how relaxing their massages were, there was a non-zero chance that one or both of them would be lulled to sleep by the nature of their situation. Not long after it began, this theory was being put to the test, with both Star _and_ Marco slowly drifting off to sleep. Star - realizing what was happening - squeezed Marco's hand and got him to jolt awake. "Hiya, sweetie."

"Please don't tell me I was nodding off."

She gently nodded. "It's okay, so am I. Talk about a relaxing experience, right?"

"Ya know, kids, we've had clients drift off before." Star's worker told them. "It's not like we'd be offended, it'd just mean we're doing our job right."

"Nah that's okay." Star said calmly. "We could always sleep later. We're here to get lost in all the relaxation and fun. Besides, we don't have any earplugs or anything and I kind of snore like a jackhammer. Right, Marco?"

"More like five jackhammers at once." Marco said unconsciously.

"Oh, you poor thing." Marco's worker chimed in.

"You kidding? That's _heaven_ for him." She answered proudly, which got him to gasp loudly and stammer.

"No! I mean I-I don't know _why_ it is, it just..." His eyes went wide and his face went red. On the bright side, He got her to giggle. "..._God_ you are so hot." Was all he could muster out afterwards, drawing a hearty laugh from her.

"I love you too, you beautiful dork."

Their massage session lasted for a few more minutes after that point, after which they were brought over to the mud bath station. After subtly stripping the remainder of their clothes, they slipped into the mud bath and were left to their own devices for the time being. The experience was...well, at least compared to the mani-pedis and the massages, mostly meh. Not really bad, but wholly unimpressive. Not at all what either of them anticipated. Both were afraid to speak up to the other. "Hey...Star?"

"Yeah?"

"How's this mud bath doing for you?"

"Honestly?" She looked at him; he nodded. "I'm...I'm not too crazy about it."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Me neither."

"I mean I guess it's not bad or anything, it's just...I guess I was expecting a lot more with it. It's just...it's just _here_."

"I get you. I'm sorry, I thought this would be a lot more...exhilarating."

"I guess mud baths just aren't our thing." She and Marco both shrugged it off. "Not a big deal. It's not like we're starving for ways to have _fun_ with each other, right?" She winked his way, and it didn't take a genius to get the message.

He laughed. "That's for sure."

"You know, maybe this is a little silly, but I was...I was kinda hoping we could...you know-"

"Me too, to be honest." He answered for her. "But...this doesn't really feel like the most romantic place to do..._stuff_ like that."

"Nope. A little bit too messy for my liking. And to tell you the truth..." She peered away towards the hot tub station, watching it intently for a few moments. "I'm not really sure I'd wanna do that in the hot tub either."

"...really?"

"Yeah, I think that whole incident where that other hot tub ate our bathing suits kinda scared me away from them. At least for a while."

"You know...we could always make a hot tub out of the shower back at our hotel room, if you wanted."

She raised an eyebrow and looked back at him. "Really?"

"I-It wouldn't be exactly the same, but...if you want to..."

"I'll think about it. I'm just not really in a hurry to get in another hot tub, is all. And I don't think I'd be in much of a hurry for another mud bath either. Though the mani-pedis and massages _were_ really nice."

"I'm glad you liked those, at least."

"I did. I could totally see us giving each other massages by ourselves when we're alone." She gently nudged his arm with her elbow, winking at him and purring flirtatiously. He shook his head and laughed with her.

"Really?"

"I dunno, I'm spitballing here."

"That does sound like a nice idea. But to be honest, I'd be perfectly content if we just...you know..."

"Honestly? Me too." She smiled warmly and pecked his lips gently.

"You would?"

"Uh huh."

"That's good, because I couldn't even begin to tell you how much I want that at the moment. A-And I feel a little weird wanting that right now-"

"Don't." She said firmly but compassionately. "There's no need to feel weird about it. _I_ want it too."

"How badly?"

"Well on a scale of one to ten, I'd say about...fifty." Her answer got them both to blush madly. But there was no sign of hesitation on her face...nor on his.

"Wow. I don't...I don't know what to say. I mean...i-if someone told me two weeks ago when we were on Mewni fighting against the end of _everything_ that I'd be here having the time of my life with my best friend like this..."

"You'd think it was crazy."

"Yeah. Not that I'm not happy about it, it's-"

"I get it."

"I guess I just...never expected that _you'd_ want to go down this rabbit hold as much as I do, if not more. Did it ever...you know-"

She sighed discontentedly. "No, it never got this far with Tom. But, I guess maybe it was never meant to."

"Maybe a dumb question, but...was he...you know, _disrespectful_ about your body or anything like that?"

"Disres...oh no, no no no, never! Not once, not even during our first relationship." Her eyes suddenly started to dart around nervously. "W-Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry. I guess I've been doing a bit of overthinking about this stuff, is all."

"Look, I may have had a lot of issues with him during our first run, but he was never rude or disrespectful to me in _that_ way. Our relationship - either of them - never really got _physical_, at least not the way it's gotten physical with you."

"So you never caught him..._admiring_ your tush or getting handsy with you when you weren't okay with it?"

"Nope, not once. And this was long before I even realized that I like that kind of stuff."

"Do you think things would've been different if-"

"No, I don't." Star said firmly.

Marco was briefly silently, an awkward silence that Star immediately picked up on. But a gently touch of his shoulder inspired him to speak up again. "W-What is it about _me_ that made you realize you like the physical stuff? You know, the making out, me holding your tush...the sexual stuff?"

"Well, that's actually easy to answer." She pecked his lips once more. "We started out as friends. At first, there was nothing romantic between us. Sure we had our crushes and all but we _started_ as friends. We learned to trust each other, be there for each other. So when this all blossomed into romance, it felt...natural. It felt normal. It felt _right_. It felt right to trust you with me, with my life, with my sanity, my soul, all of the personal baggage I have with me. None of it was a dealbreaker for you, you just shouldered on and kept being great to me, great _for_ me. There's really no simpler way to say it other than...I _trust_ you, Marco."

"More than Tom?"

"I won't say _more_, it's more like...this is _different_. I don't really know any other way to explain it. So then when I finally found out you see me in a light stronger than just "oh you're a pretty face," I don't know, I suppose I felt...what's the word I'm looking for..."

"Flattered?"

"...no, more like _honored._ Marco, I have to be honest, you were the last person I ever thought would look at me or girls like that." Marco's eyes suddenly looked away as he rubbed his arm in discomfort. "Not that that's bad or anything. I appreciate how you want to be all gentleman-like and have the utmost respect for me, but...when I found out you were ogling my butt, I don't know, something inside of me just...fell into place."

"How so, exactly?"

"Well...it was like _'My best friend in the entire world thinks I'm actually pretty hot. Revel in that.'_ And I've _never_ regretted taking that plunge. It made me realize so much about myself that I really love. For crying out loud, Marco, I had the words _Bubble Butt_ printed on a fricking T-shirt."

"I'm not gonna lie, that part was hilarious." Marco admitted. "I was a bit embarrassed at the time but if I hadn't been I'd have been laughing my head off. Although I _do_ have to agree with Janna on something...how did you know what _that_ meant but not _Thunder Thighs?_"

"Oh that's easy: Ponyhead used to use the term _Bubble Butt_ all the time to describe her boyfriends."

He silently blinked for a moment. "Oh. That...explains a lot, actually. And they were..."

"I don't know if _they_ were okay with it, but every time she used that expression it was always towards someone she was eyeing. So I...just applied that logic to you and me. And then it all made sense."

"I don't know if I ever told you this Star, but I really - _really_ \- appreciate that you were so okay with it." He moved closer to her and embraced her. She smiled again and returned the hug. "I was so worried that I was gonna give you the wrong idea with all of it. I never wanted to make you think-"

"I _never_ thought anything bad of it.. Ever." She pecked his cheek and tightened her embrace. "Look, I might be a bit of a hot mess with a lot of things about myself at the moment, but not about this. I know you, Marco. You've _always_ been a gentleman to me. You've _always_ respected me, maybe at times more than I deserved. Even now when we're taking this next step and exploring the sexual aspect of things, you're still as polite & considerate as you've ever been." They pulled apart, allowing them to gaze into each other's eyes. "This is what I meant. I trust you because you've never given me a reason _not_ to trust you. I _want_ to explore these feelings with you. I _want_ to revel in how much you're really into me."

"So do I."

"I don't want any of this with anybody else."

"Me neither. I like...I like being able to show you how much you mean to me."

"Same here, Marco. And I don't want to lose this. I don't want us to have to stop being friendly with each other. I guess I'm just afraid that that's what's going to happen when we get home. Our lives are probably going to get busier with _everything_ going on, and I doubt our folks would be too keen on us being..._sexually_ active with each other."

"That might be true, but...honestly I don't think I care."

They again embraced. "You sure?"

"Positive. I love what we have, and I have a feeling our folks would understand if we're just honest about it. Plus, I told you we are totally going to make this vacation thing a regular thing with us. With you, I feel like I'm truly _home_."

"Likewise." A few moments of silence passed with the two of them embracing & kissing. If true love could produce sparks, the entire place would've been set ablaze already. "Hey...what do you want to do now? Be honest."

His eyes darted around for a few moments before he looked back at her. Her smile got him to smile back. "Honestly? I kinda...want to go back to the room and-"

"Have some _real_ fun?" She winked flirtatiously. He nodded in anticipation. "So do I. I need my tush could use a good squeeze from you."

"Feel free to do the same for me."

"Ooh, will do, Diaz."

So they both climbed out of the mud bath, used the spa's showers to clean themselves, dressed in their clothes, and then returned to their hotel room for some of their own brand of fun.

* * *

And indeed, they re-stripped themselves of their clothes, got under the blankets of their beds, and let nature takes its course once again. It was as gentle but passionate as it ever was. For several hours - until deep into the night - only the sounds of occasional laughter broke up the tender silence that filled the room. That and the occasional flirt from the two of them. "Marco, t-that tickles." He would frequently scratch her back - not her backside, her spine - specifically in the place where her Mewberty wings once rested.

"I never picked you to be the ticklish kind."

"You don't know _everything _about me, boy."

"Well why don't you educate me then? I'm always up to learning more about my favorite girl in the world."

"I hope you brought paper, cause there's a lot of notes to take."

Of course sprinkled in the ticklish back was the always enticing rear end grab that neither of them hesitated with anymore. At this point it was almost a given that they were invited to do so, and almost frowned upon when they didn't take the invitation. "You like it?"

"Mmm-hmm." Marco hummed contently. "Remind me to ask you never to move your hand from that spot."

"Speak for yourself."

They both blushed, locking gaze on each other. "I'm just sorry that mine isn't anywhere near as amazing as yours."

"Oh stop that, Marco. Your tush is wonderful just the way it is."

"I'm glad _you_ like it, Star. But it's not like there's any real comparison. I mean it just...I can't even explain it, it's just so _gorgeous_."

She elicited a giggle. "Are you glad you got to see it in the hot tub now?"

"Oh _definitely_." He admitted.

"That _was_ pretty fun, in retrospect."

"I agree. I just wish I-er-_we..._" His little flub didn't get by her. "_We _got to savior our moment and revel in our, erm, _discovery._"

"D'aww, Marco...if you wanted to behold my bare bubble butt again, all you had to do was ask." She teased him as she kissed his cheek.

"What?! N-No, that's not..." He knew better; he couldn't hide _anything_ from her. "I didn't mean..." He sighed. "Is that bad of me?"

She adjusted her position so she could look at him dead on. A smile crept onto her face as her eyes beamed with pride. "Well if it _is,_ then we're _both_ bad." Marco was far better at reading between the lines than Star was, and he immediately put together the pieces. "I mean think about it, it's not every day you get the perfect view of your lover's beautiful, tantalizing butt, right?"

"Talk about a stroke of luck."

"You speak the truth." She tightened her embrace on him, as he followed suit. "What's that saying Earth has? _A picture is worth a thousand words?"_

"Oh for the love of..." He playfully groaned. "Star-"

"Well, I mean, it's kind of almost impossible for me to look at my own tush without throwing my neck out, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Just hear me out. You know I appreciate how much of a gentleman you are about all this, right? But you really don't have to be nervous about this anymore."

"I know, I know. It's a me thing."

"You just gotta get out of your own way. I totally feel that."

"Yeah, but something like _that_...it's not really a me thing, it's a..."

"Earth thing?" She looked at him as he slowly nodded. "Here's the thing: _I don't care_. I don't care what anyone else might think of any of this. I don't _care_ if people take issue with us being all flirty and lovey and handsy with each other. Our relationship is _none_ of their business. Us being nuts with each other isn't hurting them, so why should they spend their time being upset about it, right?"

He considered her points and realized they had some validity to them. "I guess so. Still..."

"And if you're worried about me, don't be. As far as you're concerned, you have full reign to be as crazy and horny with me as you want to be. I know I want to be."

"Honestly...so do I. I'm really grateful you've been so cool with all of this. I don't want to do wrong by you."

"I trust you, Marco. Completely. I always will." They shared another kiss that lasted for a while before pulling away. "By the way, what time is it?"

Marco looked over at the dresser on his side. "It's a few minutes past 9...whoa, we've been going for a while."

"Really?" She lifted herself up to view the clock herself, blinking twice to ensure she wasn't misreading it. "Whoa, you're right! How long has it been? Like..."

"We've been at it for 6 hours. At least!"

"Wooooooooow..." She looked back at him and held a hand up. "High-five!" They happily high-fived. "New personal best for us!"

"Way to go partner!" They broke out into raucous laughter followed by a simmering of emotion, culminating with another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"So what do you want to do now? Any ideas?"

Star sat herself back down on the bed and started intently thinking for a moment. What to do indeed? It was late. They already missed dinner. It wasn't like they could just go out and do something at this hour...

...or could they? "You know what?" She said. "I...kinda want to go out."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Go out? Really? Isn't...isn't it a little late for that?"

"I dunno. Is it? Who says we can't? The world out there is so dang cool & exciting to explore during the day. Just think about what we're missing out on at night when we're sleeping."

"...that's a good point. It does sound kinda fun to go exploring out there when there's little fanfare in the streets. There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"Well this hotel has a strict "10 PM" curfew, which means if we're out of the hotel by then, we won't be able to get back in until morning."

"...I see. But that doesn't mean we can't find a way around that, right?"

"I don't see why not. If anyone could, _we_ could."

"Then let's do it then! After we finish up here we can get dressed & figure out how we're going to have our night out on the town."

"Sounds good to me! Wait...what do you mean 'finish up?"

He was again blushing. "Well...I was kinda hoping...if you want to, I mean."

She softly gasped and had a huge smile go on her face. "Do you want to go again?"

"M-Maybe. Do _you_?"

She nodded proudly. "All you have to do is ask." She embraced him yet again & engaged in a passionate kiss, letting nature once again take its intended course. "I love you, Marco."

"I love you too, Star. I don't ever want to lose this."

"You're not going to. Not if I can help it."

**End of Chapter 14!**

**As always, please remember to read & review! :)**


	15. Twilight Traveling

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Twilight Traveling**

**Original Postdate: October 9, 2019**

* * *

Once Star & Marco finally wrapped up their...er, sexual interactions, they showered & dressed themselves. If they were going to have a night on the town, they were going to revel in it. For Star, her outfit choice was easy: her gifted blue jeans, her "Star Bubble Butt Butterfly" t-shirt, and her custom-made pink leather jacket. For Marco, he decided to mix it up a little bit, opting for a black short-sleeved hoodie - with his grey shirt underneath - in lieu of his traditional red one, his black skinny jeans, spiked wristbands, and a blackish-gray bandana. And of course, their promise rings.

Immediately Star became mesmerized. "Well well, who do we have here?"

"Just thought I'd spice things up just a little bit for you." Marco said, proudly showing off his new outfit. "It's nothing major, I'm just feeling a little risky tonight. That's all."

"Who _are_ you and what have you done with my Marco?" She purred, walking up to him and planting a kiss on his lips. "This outfit looks _amazing_ on you."

"Well you _would_ know amazing, wouldn't you?"

"OH stop..." She said with a blush. "What can I say? This outfit just _works_ for me."

"You can say that again." It was his turn to purr at him.

"Admit it, Marco. You like this shirt."

"Well..." He stammered, blushing madly. "I love how much _you_ love that shirt."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "I'll get you to crack one of these days, Diaz."

"Keep telling yourself that."

They laughed together and kissed again, nothing but smiles all around. "Okay, so how are we going to do this?"

He gently grabbed her hand and led her to the living room, opening up to the curtains to the balcony and traversing to the edge, directing her attention down to the ground where they could see two faint figures of security guards standing around. "Okay, it's 11:00 and security around this place has been ramped up to 11."

"Seems kind of excessive, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "Well they don't want anyone breaking into the place when there's very few employees around to mitigate damage, I guess."

"Makes sense but why does that mean _we_ can't go out after hours? What if we want to have a night out, like we want right now?"

Again, another shrug. "I don't make the rules, Star. But it's not a big deal, we can totally work around this."

"Yeah we can!" A high-five between the two of them as they pumped themselves up for their reckoning. "So...what's the game plan?"

Marco took to analyzing the area. From the security guards to the various ledges his eye caught on the way down. Surely this was going to be a challenge. But it would be worth it to see their adventure through. "It's gonna be tricky, but I think we can pull this off. We'll have to make our way down slowly and quietly so we don't make any noise, _and_ we'll have to sneak past those guards without getting caught."

"What do you think would happen if they did catch us?"

"I'd rather not find out..."

"Can we even get down to the ground from way up here?"

"If anyone could, _we_ could." He surveyed his surroundings again, taking note of where everything was. "There's a lot of ledges scattered around the wall we could use to climb down on. But we have to be careful; we can't attract their attention."

Both of them started to slowly make their way over the railing, spotting the nearest ledge that looked big enough to hold one or both of them, and gently climbed down onto it. The ledges were scattered, forcing them to take detours adjacent to their own room, all while continuing to avoid detection. Each of the ledges was a good few feet away from each other in both height and lateral distance, forcing the two to time their jumps perfectly each other, lest they miss their target & fall to the ground, either significantly harming themselves or the impact of the fall garnering the attention of the security guards.

"You know, I completely forgot just how high up or hotel room was." Star admitted, helping Marco up onto one of the ledges after their latest jump saw him only barely latch onto it.

"Next time I'll remember to get one closer to the ground so we don't have to do this every time we want to sneak out." Marco joked.

"You kidding? With _that_ view? Not a chance, bub."

They rolled their eyes and shared in a quiet laugh as they got closer to the ground. Once they were barely a story above the ground, they ran into their most difficult obstacle of the descent. The final ledge - the one close enough that would let them get to the ground - was located directly behind the security guards. Barring a creative solution, they would have to directly confront them and possibly end up in a sticky situation. They preferred to avoid that route.

"Now what?" Star whispered to him, noticing his brain working. He peered around the corner but failed to find any other usable ledges that were close enough to them. The one right behind the guards was their only play, lest they wanted to risk injury.

"We've got no choice. We need to distract them & get them away from this spot. But how?" He whispered back.

"Ooh, idea! I have an idea!" She whisper-shouted. "Marco, do you remember that money you gave me after we beat Mina to use on me that I largely didn't?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, maybe I exaggerated a _little_ about not getting for myself."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't just this jacket and t-shirt. I got this neat little gift bag too from one of the local joke stores Echo Creek has. It's got everything - smoke bombs, whoopie cushions, these little balls you throw on the ground and they make animal noises..."

"Okay _that_ sounds awesome!" He whisper-shouted back. "That could be _exactly_ what we need. Where is it?"

"It's back in...our...room..." Her voice trailed off, realizing her answer did nothing to actually help their situation. She looked up and peered at their balcony. "Shoot. Okay, new plan-" She turned back to him. "You stay here, try not to fall, _I'll_ go back and get that bag." Without another word she started leaping up back towards their room.

"Star, wait!" But she was already gone. Despite his concerns, she was showing no signs of trouble climbing back up, hitting each ledge seamlessly. Marco stood in amazement watching Star's almost-acrobatic movement. "I'm gonna marry that girl someday..." She returned shortly after, holding the bag triumphantly in her hands.

"Got it!" She whispered proudly. She reached into the bag and pulled out a little transparent ball. "I _think_ this is a smoke bomb."

"What do you mean 'you think?"

"None of these things are labeled, and I kinda lost the instruction manual."

"...how did you lose it?"

"I was playing with Janna one night before we came out here and I took this out for a test drive and then some things happened and when I came home the manual was gone." She shrugged. "No biggie, we'll just throw one and roll with whatever happens."

"You know, sometimes I really don't mind that mindset, and sometimes it just doesn't work for the situation."

"Loosen up a little. Tonight's supposed to be _fun_, and sometimes you just have to go with the flow." She prepared to throw the little ball at the security guards, aiming just adjacent to them. She launched it; it hit the ground, exploding into a cascade of loud kitty noises. Immediately and inexplicably, the guards began panicking.

"IT'S A KITTY APOCALYPSE!" One of them shouted.

"THE END TIMES ARE UPON US!" The second one shouted, followed by the two of them running around in a delirium, completely ignoring Star & Marco only feet above them. Eventually the two's running resulted in them colliding with each other and knocking themselves unconscious, leaving Star & Marco above them completely speechless.

They exchanged glances at each other, shrugged quietly, and then proceeded to make their way down to the ground. The two guards were out for the count so it appeared as though their threat was neutralized. "Is it me or was that totally anticlimactic?" Marco commented, now speaking normally.

"Totally. But who cares? Let's go!" Star eagerly grabbed Marco's arm and pulled him away from the scene as they both headed for the open world.

* * *

With no plan in place beyond just being out in the cool, summer air, Star & Marco took a nice, slow stroll out and about the town. Nighttime sight-seeing. There was nothing quite like it. The streets were mostly quiet, as were most of the buildings. But the few lights that _were_ still on cast the world in a gorgeous, simmering light. Not a single cloud in the sky, a full moon, glitter-like glowing...it was beyond perfect.

"It's _beautiful_, isn't it?" Star said, gazing at the sky.

"Breathtaking." Marco agreed.

"Not as breathtaking as _you_." She teased, kissing his cheek.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too. So where should we go?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. The whole town is our playground tonight, but I'm not familiar with these parts at all. Any chance _you_ recognize any of these from Mewni?"

She glanced at both ends of the street, scanning all of the buildings they passed. None of them looked familiar to her. She shook her head defeatedly. "Sorry, no dice. None of these..." But her tune quickly changed as they came up to what appeared to be a club. "Hold it, I recognize _that_!"

"You do?" He asked; she nodded excitedly. "What is it?"

"It's this neat little hub that was on the outskirts of the village. It was really popular, I'd always see people having such a good time in there, either dancing, having meals, or just chatting it up with fellow patrons. Heck I used to go in there myself."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My folks can _never_ know this, but I would always sneak off and have myself a good time coming here. I made a lot of friends here _and_ I become sort of a crowd favorite. Come on! Let's go show off my new boyfriend!" She gently pulled his arm and let him towards the club. At the front door they took a moment to peer in: the place appeared quite busy, with people _and_ monsters abound chit-chatting, dancing, gorging on delicious, overpriced food, etc. Star opened the door and led the two of them in.

Once one of the patrons took notice of Star standing there, others followed suit, until the entire room was silent with everyone staring at her. "HEY EVERYBODY, IT'S STAR BUTTERFLY!" Someone in the crowd yelled, which got everyone in the room to cheer. Star's face beamed with delight; Marco was merely stunned at the adoration she was receiving.

"Hi everyone! Hi!" She waved to them all. "Good to be back!" She went over to one of the table - which consisted of a human male/female couple and a spider-looking monster. Marco followed right behind her. "Hi Sammy! Hey Lenny!" She turned to the spider monster. "Ruben!" She held up her hand; the spider lightly tapped it with one of his legs. "How's it going, guys!?"

"It's going great!" Ruben excitedly said. "We haven't seen you in forever."

"Yeah, sorry, I've been super busy."

"I love that jacket!" Sammy exclaimed, happily gawking at the pink leather jacket.

"Ooh, thank you!" Star turned around to show off the engraving on the back. "I got it custom made." She turned back around and smiled. Lenny took particular notice of the t-shirt underneath.

"I...like that shirt." He said a bit nervously. Star smiled brightly and blushed.

"Thank you. So do I." She tapped Marco's shoulder a few times. "You can thank this adorable hunk for this shirt coming to fruition." Now it was Marco's turn to blush. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my best friend, boyfriend, and hopefully husband in a few years...Marco Diaz." Everyone greeted Marco warmly; he sheepishly waved back. "Is this guy cute or what?"

The two of them took a seat at the table, and the next several minutes were spent chatting it up non-stop. You couldn't _pay_ any of these people to stop talking. During their conversation a worker brought them over a big bowl of mozzarella sticks. Star, remembering them from the restaurant, immediately took a few and chomped on them, bringing Marco into laughter.

"So what have you two been up to?" Ruben asked Star & Marco.

"I really don't want to get into details, but the last couple of weeks have been...a bit rough." Star admitted. "To put a long story short, I've been kind of a hot mess."

"I'm so sorry, dear." Sammy chimed in.

"No, it's okay. It's getting better...slowly...and I have _this_ beautiful man here to thank for it." Star wrapped her arms around Marco and kissed his cheek. "He's been a rock for me the entire time."

"You kidding? _You've_ been _my_ rock, Star." He kissed her back, causing her to giggle. "Hey, maybe _that_ can be my pet name for you: Rock Star."

She pondered it. "Hey if that works for you, don't let me stop you. I like it, buuuuut I like Bubble Butt better."

He sighed and rolled his eyes playfully. "Of course you do."

Naturally the three others were confounded at this discovery. Marco's primary concern was that Star didn't understand that other people in the world wouldn't be quite as positively receptive to their appreciation of each other's physical appearance & sexual feelings. The problem wasn't that Star didn't understand; it's that she didn't care. To her, what other people thought about how she and Marco expressed their feelings for each other in public didn't matter. To her, it wasn't their business. She would gladly accept it if people responded positively, but it wasn't a dealbreaker, and it especially wasn't if they responded negatively.

"We're on a vacation together." Marco explained. "After Star had a...uh..."

"Total meltdown." Star interrupted. "Destroyed a mirror and everything, that's why I have these bandages." She held her arms up to show the bandages, still an emotionally painful reminder of her demons.

"...I decided to take her out of town for a while to unwind and reset."

"Best. Vacation. Ever." She said again, this time locking lips with the boy. "It's actually been a really relaxing vacay, all things considered. We've had so much fun, and we've been learning all sort of things about ourselves."

"I know it's the most fun _I've_ ever had." Marco acknowledged, smiling at his future wife.

"I wish it didn't have to end." She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I know." Marco's stomach started rumbling. "You getting hungry?"

As if on cue, Star's stomach also began rumbling. "I could go for some eats."

So the other three called over a waiter and had Star & Marco's orders taken. Tonight's late night meal: juicy, thick, cheesy bacon-flavored hamburgers. It was a taste bud's paradise come true. Barely any words were spoken between the two lovebirds while they chowed down.. Sometimes a conversation ruined the salivating joy of a delicious meal.

"Oh gosh, I've forgotten how tasty the food here can be." Star said in between bites. "How're you liking it, Marco?"

He nodded rapidly. "It's like nothing I've ever tasted before. This is spectacular!"

"I should've shown you this place a loooong time ago. It's great, isn't it?"

"I'm sure having fun here."

"I'm glad. So...where should we go next?"

"Next?"

"What, you didn't think we were gonna spend the whole night here, did you?"

Marco blinked silently before speaking again. "Well, no, but-"

"Come on, we're out on the town. We've got the _whole_ night to ourselves. Let's go have some fun!"

"You know what? I'm game! Let's go!"

They paid for their burgers, said farewell to the patrons of the establishment, and went off their way to find their next late night adventure.

* * *

Walking further down the street, Star & Marco found themselves passing a nearby park that for some reason was still open to the public at this time of night. Peering through the open gates, Marco noticed people gathering around one of the big trees, with what appeared to be a booth situated in front of the crowd. "Wonder what's going on in there." Marco said to nobody in particular. A passerby also heading towards the park overheard him and approached the two.

"Didn't you hear?" He told them. "It's the _Midnight Fireworks Extravaganza._ Once a month the park stays open during the dead of night and the park owners treat everyone to a giant fireworks show! All you have to do is buy a ticket for it."

"Then it's a good thing I brought some cash on me." Marco said confidently. "What do you say, Star?"

"That depends."

"...on what?"

"What _are_ fireworks?"

His eyes opened widely. What kind of question was that? "Well that answers _that_ question." He gently tugged her arm as he walked into the park and towards the booth, purchasing two tickets for the fireworks show and then taking a seat near the big tree with the rest of the crowd. He turned back to Star. "Are you really telling me you've _never_ seen a fireworks show before?"

"I don't think so." She admitted. "Usually on Mewni when we wanted to celebrate something we would just fling lots of corn into the air and eat the falling pellets."

"Why does that sound so-"

"Dumb?" She shrugged. "I don't know. Lots of things on Earth sound way cooler than they do on Mewni. It's weird. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore, right?"

"True."

The murmuring crowd around them started to quiet down as the park manager entered the fold and started to speak. After several thank-yous for the attendance and assurances that there would be no bodily harm due to errant fireworks, the show began. The first of the fireworks was launched into the air, exploding once reached its peak. It drew many "awws" and even some applause from the crowd. Star, however, was the one most blown away by the display.

"It's soooooo pretty..." She said, practically drooling over the lights. "Okay, make a note, Marco: we _so_ have to have fireworks for our wedding."

"I'm already ahead of you there." He said slyly, drawing a purr from her and a kiss. The fireworks show continued with relatively little fanfare. Many "ooh's" and "ahh's" from the crowd, nothing out of the ordinary. But halfway through, something caught the corner of Star's eye.

It was a group of teenage boys carrying around a bunch of scrap and materials into an open part of the park, only to then start assaulting the scrap parts with their materials - hammers, bats, etc. Without any prompting, Star began standing up, although she was pulled back down as Marco was still unconsciously holding her hand. "Star?"

"Hey, would you mind if I went to check that out?" She asked, pointing over towards the group of rebellious boys. Marco studied the area intently.

"Are you sure?" He asked; she nodded. "Knock yourself out. You know where to find me if you need anything."

She leaned back down and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Marco. OH and don't make it _too_ obvious when you stare."

She giggled; he rolled his eyes with a smirk as she walked away and headed towards the group of boys with their scrap. She introduced herself to them rather confidently and asked them what they were doing.

"Have you ever heard of a "rage room?" One of them asked her.

"...nope."

"It's a place that lets you use tools to break objects and stuff. It's all legit and stuff! We're doing that here, except outside...and stuff. It's best saved for when you're like really fuming or angry and you need a healthy-ish outlet for your rage."

"...I see." It was obvious that his explanation was sinking in deep for Star. It was like a lightbulb was going off in her head. "Would you...mind if I joined you?"

The group all exchanged looks with each other, briefly contemplating the offer. Ultimately, they nodded and allowed her to join them. One of them handed her a baseball bat and what appeared to be a trash can top. She set the top on the ground, lifted her bat in the air and brought it down on the top, hitting it lightly. One of the other boys took notice. "See, that's good, but you don't have to hold back with any of this stuff. It's all scrap and garbage anyway, so go nuts."

Again, his words seemed to sink it for her. She nodded with a smile and tried again, this time bringing the bat down with more force. She repeated this several more times, each time with slightly more weight behind the swing than the last until she finally launched one final swing at the top and then put her bat down triumphantly. She cheered herself loudly which got the attention of one of the other guys. "Alright, there you go! You're gettin' it! Come on, there's so much more stuff over here!"

She re-grabbed her bat and ran over to the group; the rest of the scrap and tools were laid out on the ground for them to pick from. All of the stuff had been conveniently carried over in a gigantic metal trash bin, which was sitting upright next to them all. She walked slowly over to the trash bin. Despite it technically being considered scrap, it was shiny enough to let her see her own reflection. She took a moment to just look at herself. Here stood Star Butterfly. Not the same Star of old, not the one that ran through life as if she owned the place and didn't have a care in the world. This was a Star burned by the many burdens of royalty and personal sacrifice, and all of it had clearly taken its toll on her.

The reflection suddenly began to morph from Star into Hekapoo. A stern, unimpressed, arm-crossed, glaring, head-shaking Hekapoo. And just like that any of the joy and optimism Star had been building from this exercise evaporated into thin air; her frown slowly turned into a scowl, her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes went red with rage. She dropped the bat on the ground and began using her bare fists to punch the crap out of the trash can, growling loudly with every hit she landed.

The growling was loud enough to cut through the fireworks and draw Marco's attention. He looked over and saw what was happening, with Star going ape all over the trash can, and then when she was finished, moving on to other pieces of scrap that were lying on the ground and beating the tar out of them. He immediately took note of the rage on her face and ran over to her. But by the time he got over to her, she had already decimated several pieces of scrap - the others had also notice the pure fury on her face and backed away, giving her space. At the very least, this time none of the scraps were made of glass, so progress.

By the time he finally arrived at her, she had ceased throwing her fists. She stood over the last piece of scrap she had assaulted, angrily huffing and puffing. Sweat was dripping down her face and her teeth were clenched, but the anger was gradually subsiding. She was regaining her composure as she looked up and saw Marco standing a few feet from her. None of the other boys dared say anything either; having been a tight-knitted group and a part of this "Rage Room" event for a while now, they recognized true rage and the necessity of getting it out productively.

Star stood up slowly, her breathing back under control. Her knuckles were bruised, but not bloody. She looked over at the other boys and then back at the ground, embarrassed. "Um...thanks for...that." She said before running over to Marco and embracing him. Without another word, they both left the scene in a huff, leaving the group of boys to return to their business uninterrupted.

* * *

Back over by the still-ongoing fireworks show, Marco decided he wanted to pick Star's brain over the incident. "You okay?" He asked her calmly. She was resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up, kissed his cheek, and shrugged.

"I guess."

"You looked...pretty mad over there. I didn't-"

"No. You didn't do anything to cause that. It was...me. I saw...I saw Hekapoo in one of my reflections and it just m-made my blood boil."

Marco sighed and caressed her hair. "At least it wasn't a glass mirror this time."

"Cheers to that. Sorry I ran off like that, by the way."

"It's okay. At least now I know how I can finally help you."

She lifted her head slightly and looked at him again. "What do you mean?"

"Those rage room things are _great_ as an outlet. You can break things on purpose and you'll never get in trouble for it.

"Like...ever?" The terms of the arrangement clearly enthralled her. "Yeah, I could _definitely_ go for something like that. Is there one of those back home?"

"I'll have to check, but I think so. It would certainly beat breaking glass again..."

"I'll say. Look can we just put that aside for now? I didn't mean to derail our night out, and we can just forget that it happened until we get back to the room."

"Of course, but you didn't derail anything. To be honest, this fireworks show...it's wildly unremarkable."

Star looked back up at the sky and the continuing fireworks show. "Yeah I guess after a while it loses its charm..."

"You wanna bail and go find something else?"

She shrugged but nodded. "Sure."

* * *

After abandoning the park they continued their trek down the streets looking for something new. By this point it was nearing 3 AM, and both of them had agreed they would try one more thing before turning back around and returning home. "The sky just gets more and more beautiful every time I look at it." Star remarked, noting the cloudless sky and the twinkling stars above them.

"It sure does." Marco agreed. "It's so beautiful..." He checked back down at street level and realized that most of the street lights ahead of them were off or not functioning properly, leading a very dimly-lit path for them. "Thank goodness there's no clouds or else it's be completely pitch black down here."

"Yeah what's _with_ these broken lights?" Even Star had to agree: dead of night and almost no working street lights? Beyond inexcusable. They walked under one of them that was flickering, but as soon as they stepped underneath it, it went on full blast with no issue. "Huh. Weird." She chuckled. "It's like our own little spotlight."

Marco joined in laughing. "Yeah, I guess so." They both turned their attention to each other. The light shined off of both of their glistening faces, their eyes sparkling with lust and love. The universe had a funny way of working.

_**Thinking, we don't wanna get caught up in overthinking  
**__**We only got tonight**_

No prompting needed, they both leaned in and let the sparks fly with a kiss that seemed to last forever. To call it passionate would be an understatement.

_**Moments, we gotta keep on living for these moments**_  
_**Cause this is our time**_

They pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes, and into each other's souls. Then, once again with no prompting, they began to slow dance. There was no music playing around them. No bands of any kind. Marco didn't even turn on his phone to his playlist. They just began slow dancing to nothing. And yet it was as if a 50-pieces orchestra was right beside them, playing the most incredible, romantic music one has ever heard.

**_Life's too short to sit and wait_**  
**_For luck to come our way_**  
**_Light it up like fireworks_**  
**_I wanna hear you say_**

Several more kisses were sprinkled into their little impromptu dance number. After the last kiss, they stopped dancing and kept their gaze squarely on each other. No words, but the light in their eyes said it all. "Marco...I love you."

"I love you too, Star."

She nuzzled her head into his chest. "Thank you. For everything. For this vacation...for treating me like a princess even when I don't feel like I deserve it...for being my best friend and...hopefully my husband..."

He stopped her by bringing her in for another kiss. "I can't wait for that."

"Me either."

_**We are, we are**_  
_**We are alive**_  
_**And we are the light that's shining now**_

"I feel so silly..."

"How?"

"You know, looking back at all of my old crushes. Tom, _Oskar_..." The second name was said with a noticeable level of vile. "There were times where I thought they were _the one_, but they're not. I'll always have a special place in my heart for Tom, and Oskar I forgot about almost immediately...but _you_...you're _special_. You're the most special person to ever come into my life. All of the times that we got separated, a-and all of that stuff with our feelings...I almost lost you from my life forever. But I'm gonna make sure I never give you a reason to want to leave."

"I don't _want_ to leave you, and I have no plans to do so. I love you, and I want us to grow up and have the most adorable, beautiful family with the squishiest cheeks you've ever seen."

_**We are, we are**_  
_**We are the reckless**_  
_**You can hear us drowning out the sound**_

_**We are, we are**_  
_**Young and dumb, always chasing something  
**__**We are, we are**_  
_**Hearts like drums, you can hear us coming**_  
_**We are, we are**__**  
**_

Star poked a finger at Marco's cheek. "I do like your squishy cheeks."

Marco followed suit which got Star to giggle. "Speak for yourself."

They shared another kiss. "Do you wanna head back? The sun's gonna be up pretty soon."

Marco looked up at the sky, staring at the glistening stars. "Sure. This has been great, but I think I'm ready to turn in."

"Same, Marco."

So they abandoned the rest of their outing and turned around, racing back towards the hotel as quickly as they could go.

_**Chances, you know there's nothing wrong with taking chances**_  
_**We put it on the line  
****Oh someday, I know we're gonna be somebody's someday**_  
_**Only gotta try****  
**_

Their journey saw them pass the park that they just came back from. The fireworks show was _still_ going on, amazingly enough. But it wasn't enough to entice them to stay. So off they went again. They passed by the club they had visited earlier and took a quick peek inside. Everyone inside was still having a wonderful time chatting, dancing, eating, etc. But like before, they were not enticed to stay. So off they went yet again.

_**Life's too short to sit and wait**_  
_**For luck to come our way**_  
_**Light it up like fireworks**_  
_**I wanna hear you say**_

Upon arriving back by the hotel, they noticed that the two guards they had knocked out earlier when they snuck out were still knocked out, though it did appear that they were slowly starting to regain consciousness. Deciding not to stick around for any potential consequences, Star & Marco climbed back up the wall and anxiously headed back towards their hotel room.

_**We are, we are**_  
_**We are alive**_  
_**And we are the light that's shining now  
**__**  
We are, we are**_  
_**We are the reckless**_  
_**You can hear us drowning out the sound**_

Once they finally got back to their hotel room, they changed out of their clothes, threw on their pajamas, and crawled into bed. "Best night out ever?" Star asked him, pecking his lips.

"Best night out ever. We have to do that again." He answered back, also kissing her lips, but this time staying around far longer.

"I couldn't agree more, Marco. Goodnight."

"Night, Star."

_**We are, we are**_  
_**Young and dumb, always chasing something  
**__**We are, we are**_  
_**Hearts like drums, you can hear us coming**_  
_**We are, we are**_

**End of Chapter 15!**

**Yeah updates will continue to be a bit more sporadic going forward. However I do have an announcement to make: I'm already starting work on a THIRD post-cleaved fanfiction! This one is a Christmas-themed one! It randomly came to me one day while I was working and now I have to write it or it'll never leave. I don't have any major details on it yet, just that it takes place about six months after this fanfic, and - in the possible event that I start posting that story before I finish this one - you don't _need_ to finish this story in order to jump right into that one.**

**A/N: The featured song for this chapter is "We Are" by Big Time Rush.**

**As always, please remember to read & review!**


	16. Hot Air Balloon Ride

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Hot Air Balloon Ride**

**Original Postdate: October 13, 2019**

* * *

**Day 10**

After returning from their night out on the town, the two lovebirds found themselves sleeping in _very_ late the next day. By that, I mean they slept in past noon. But hey, sleep is sleep.

Between the two, Marco was the first to arise. Yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes, he peered over to his side, taking note of the slumbering girl. He smiled and went to wrap his arms around her. The motion got her to open her eyes, realize what was going on, and happily return the gesture. "Hiya, you sleeping angel." She said softly.

"I love you so much, Star."

"I love you too." She yawned rather loudly. "What time is it?"

"Past noon."

She groaned softly. "Wow. I guess maybe staying out so late wasn't such a good idea..."

"Nah, it's all good."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Are you sure?"

"I am. I had a great time with you last night. I wouldn't mind doing a late night outing like that again." He caressed her hair and kissed her back. "Although...maybe not _tonight_. It was pretty exhausting, all things considered."

She sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and peered over to him, smiling faintly. He followed suit shortly after. "Yeah I'm pretty wiped. It's a good kind of tired, at least, but...maybe today we can take it slow."

"I'm down for that. Nothing wrong with a slow day. We still have a few days before we have to go back home."

Star's jaw almost dropped completely. "Oh my gosh. Really!?"

"I'm afraid so."

Star slowly began to sulk as she looked down at her bed sheets. "Aw jeez..."

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and slowly pulled her close to him for a hug. "I'm sorry, Star. I know you're having a great time. I am too. And I know you're kind of apprehensive about going home..."

She sighed and looked up at him. "I'll be fine. I know we have to go home. A-And I'm sure things'll be fine. I just...I just don't want to lose anything we've gotten over these last two weeks. You know, the fun adventures, the loving, the..."

"Intimacy?"

Her eyes shot open, and she put on a faint smile. "...especially the intimacy. I think that's my favorite part of all of this."

"Mine too. And I promise you I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we don't lose that. And I promise you come hell or high water we are going to make these vacations a regular thing for us."

Her smile grew a little wider, though a glimmer in her eyes indicated a hint of guilt. "That's sweet, but please don't worry about that. If that doesn't come to pass it's not the end of the world. This one vacation was _phenomenal. _It's been everything I could've ever imagined it to be, and then some. And I can never possibly repay you for everything you've done for me."

"But you don't have to."

"I know, but I _want_ to."

"And that's more than enough for me." They shared a kiss. "This vacay was for _you_, Star. It was for _you_ to relax and get back to a better place."

"No, it was for _us_. You needed it just as much as I did. You might be able to handle stress better than me but that doesn't mean you didn't deserve to have fun."

"And I _have_. If I had done this vacay with anyone else it wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun."

"Aww..." She blushed, slightly embarrassed but highly flattered. They hugged again. "Thank you. I will never deserve you, Marco, but I'm glad to have you."

"Me too. And I can't wait to explore this new world with you."

She gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'm glad I won't have to do it alone. I really wonder what our new world looks like."

"I bet we could get a glimpse of it if we wanted to."

"What do you mean? I don't have magic anymore, so I can't summon cloudy or anything like that."

"What if I told you there was another way?"

She smirked and kissed him again. "Do tell, Diaz."

"Have you ever heard of a hot air balloon?" She blinked her eyes rapidly, indicating a 'no.' Marco got a chuckle from that. "Asked and answered. Well then I know what we're doing tomorrow. Hot air balloon ride!"

"Ooh, sounds exotic. We're going flying?!"

"Ehhhhh sort of. You'll see."

"I can't wait." Again they kissed, this time lasting much longer than previously. "So...what should we do now?"

"I don't know. Are you up for doing anything big or would you rather just hang around here today?"

"Hanging around here sounds great. We could use a rest. Plus, it'd give us plenty of time to...you know..."

Listen to Star being all steamy. They both started to blush hard. "You sure?"

"I could go for some. Besides I figured, you know, get as much of it as we can in now before we go home. Just in case..."

"Just in case they say something?" He asked; she nodded.

"I don't want this to stop even if they _do_ say something, don't get me wrong. What we have is _incredible_ and I don't ever want to lose it. But...I also don't want to disrespect our folks. Think about it. They're putting _a lot_ of trust in us to behave ourselves on this trip."

"...Well, of course they do, but mainly they just wanted us to relax and have a good time. Destress, unwind, not have another nervous breakdown, that stuff. It's like you said. We never _planned_ for it to happen. It was never an objective of ours. It just...happened. And I'm really glad it did."

"Me too. I don't want it with anyone else. It's you or nobody."

"Same here. You're just...you're amazing in every single possible way. And I trust you completely."

"So do I. We've never had a reason not to trust each other, and I'm still going to trust you even if we have to change things when we get home."

He smiled warmly. "Thank you, Star. That means a lot." They shared one more kiss with each other. "So should I...shut the blinds, or..."

She pondered the thought for a brief moment. "Nah, no need. We're too high up anyways. Plus, I could care less what people on the outside think of it. I love you, Marco. And I like getting to show you what you mean to me."

"I love you too, Star. And you always do a great job at showing me."

"And so do you. And do you know what I want right now?"

"Name it."

"I want your big, soft hands on my big, firm tush. It's waiting here for you."

"And you're sure about that? Cause if I do that I'm not going to want to take them away for a while."

"Nobody would ask you too."

So with no further words said, both of them proceeded to share a private, heart-warming, intimate moment. Or rather, an intimate few hours.

* * *

**Day 11**

The following day, after their biological clocks had been fixed, Star & Marco headed out for their hot air balloon ride. They hitched a taxi that took them out to the park they had visited the other night. There was a hot air balloon right in the dead center of the park. "There it is!" Marco pointed it out.

"Marco it's beautiful!" Star proclaimed. "You ordered this just for us?"

"I did. But don't get too excited yet: this is just the beginning." They approached the gentleman that was guarding the hot air balloon. "Hi, we're here for the balloon ride. Name, Marco Diaz."

"Ahh, Mr. Diaz! We've been expecting you and your lovely girlfriend. You're just in time!" The man said happily. "Step right in, you two." They all stepped gently into the hot air balloon. "Enjoy the ride!"

"Ooh, where are we going?" Star asked in a giddy tone.

"Everywhere!" Marco answered. Slowly but surely the hot air balloon was lifted off the ground and taken into the air, hundreds and hundreds of feet above solid ground. Star was legitimately awestruck.

"Whoaaaaaa...check out this view!" She beamed, moving all around the basket like a giddy child. "Look how high up we are!"

"Star you used to ride on a sentient magical cloud on a daily basis. Isn't something like this, I don't know, mundane for you?"

She briefly stopped and turned her head towards him. "Marco, just because I used to be able to conjure up literally anything that my mind could come up with doesn't mean I'm not fascinated by these Earth traditions you have. I mean when I had cloudy I got to travel from place to place at pretty fast speeds. I was usually just focused on where I was going, so I didn't really get to soak in the view. But now..." She walked over to the ledge and leaned over, taking it the breathtaking view beneath her. "This view...it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. I can just...take it all in, smell the fresh air..."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

She turned back to him and smiled. "Not nearly as beautiful as you." And another kiss, this one going on for quite a while.

"I love you too."

"You really mean it? That we can make this vacation a regular thing?"

"Absolutely."

"Because this kind of stuff? I wanna do it _all_ the time. It's moments like _this_ that make it all worth it."

"You're right about that."

"I can't believe you set all of this up for me. You are amazing, you know that?"

"Oh stop."

"I mean it, Diaz-"

"No I mean stop, cause you haven't seen _anything_ yet."

"You mad man. What's on deck?"

"Well..." He directed her attention towards the direction that the hot air balloon was headed in. They were passing over a town...a town that had plenty of billboards plastered everywhere, on as many buildings as possible. But these weren't just ordinary billboards. No, these were billboards with pictures of Star Butterfly on each and every one of them. Don't worry, all of the pictures were in good taste. In fact most of them were rather dorky and cute, with some even being of her and him hugging or making funny faces to the camera. But just the mere sight of all of these photographs being blown up like this and plastered everywhere for everyone to see was enough to send Star into a tearful frenzy.

"Marco!? You did this!?" She shouted, embracing the boy.

"Yup." He nodded proudly, kissing her cheek.

"But...why? Aren't the people who live there going to be annoyed?"

"I dunno. But I hope they're not, it was a pretty big hassle to get all those pictures up there." He kissed her lips this time, quite passionately. "I want everyone in the world to see you the way _I_ see you. I want all of them to fall in love with you just by laying their eyes on you, like I did. I want them to look at you and think '_Wow, that's the coolest girl I've ever seen in my life._" Star's eyes began to well up. "I want them to think '_Boy, I'm missing out not being a part of that girl's life._ I am absolutely, unapologetically _crazy_ about you. I'm so lucky to have you in my life and I am never going to do anything to lose you. I love you, Star. And I want this world to love you."

It was impossible for her to hold back the tears anymore. She rushed the boy and tackled him, sending them both onto the floor of the basket. "I don't even know what to say." She sniffled back tears and kissed him. "I don't need the whole world to love me. I only need _you_ to love me."

"And I do. More than anything in the world."

"Thank you, Marco. For everything. Thank you for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for, for loving me exactly as I am, for sticking around through the bad times, and..." She hesitated with her last point. "Thank you for being so patient with me."

Marco's face fell slightly for a moment before perking back up and kissing her again. "You're welcome. You deserve it."

"It's not been easy the last few weeks...you know, fighting with myself. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting a lot better. Other times I feel like I'm regressing. But I refuse to give up. I have too much to look forward to with you to do that." She stood up and helped him up, dusting both of them off and kissing him once again. "I want to grow old with you. I want to raise a family of a hundred babies with you."

"How about we start at one and go from there?" Marco sheepishly laugh. Star lightly shoved his arm.

"I want to explore everything this world has to offer with you. I want to be able to go to bed every single night, look over, and see you there laying beside me. _You're_ my home, Marco. Nothing else."

Marco smiled & tried poorly to hide his growing blush. "Star..."

"Sharing a bed with you...I used to fantasize about what it would be like to find that perfect someone & go to sleep with them every night, but with you...it's exceeded every fantasy I've ever had about it. And I'm not even talking about the sexual stuff. Just...just laying there next to you, listening to your heart beat, getting to kiss you whenever I feel like I need some love...it's all perfect. _You're_ perfect."

"D'aww, stop. I'm not perfect, and I never will be. But being with you motivates me to want to be better."

"Me too. I've said I feel like we're a married couple already. And I still feel that way. And I hope we stay that way forever."

"We will. Nothing's going to get in the way of that. I'll make sure of it. And when we're finally old enough to make it official, I know it'll be the greatest day of our lives."

The streams of tears were in full force now. They pulled each other in once more, while the hot air balloon operator just stood in the background, observing the moment and blissfully tearing up himself.

Star & Marco looked back down over the edge and saw they had now passed over the town. "Where are we going next?" She asked him.

"We're gonna pass over a beach. I think you'll like what you see there."

"Oh boy, I like it when you tease." She flirtatiously said to him.

Some time passed, and eventually they did come to the beach that Marco promised they would. Immediately something drew Star's attention. Upon looking down, she discovered there was actually a message written into the sand. The message read: _I love you forever, Star Butterfly-Diaz._ Yes, with the hyphen and everything. Star's jaw almost literally hit the floor. Marco smiled widely and beamed at his girlfriend again. "Marco...I-I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." He took her hands gently & kissed her. "It's the truth. I want you to take my name. And I want to take yours. Together we an an unstoppable team, and we're going to conquer life together."

She could barely keep it together by now. "You're right, we totally are! I love you so much, Marco!" She lunged in for a passionate kiss, this one lasting a while. If kisses could ignite actual fireworks, the entire balloon would be ablaze right about now. Fortunately, they cannot. So they settled for the fireworks in their minds that kept going off. When they finally pulled away, they stared silently at each other for what seemed like forever. "Oh my gosh, take a picture of that." She urged him; he did so, using his phone to capture a photo of the message.

It was then, by staring at both the phone _and_ peering over the edge that she formulated an idea. "Hey Marco...dumb question but...is your phone waterproof?"

"Water proof? It's _everything_ proof. It can withstand high falls, being thrown against walls, dunked in liquids...this bad boy is practically indestructible. W-" He briefly looked over at her and saw her rapidly undressing herself until she was down to just her bra and her underpants. "WHAT THE HECK STAR!?"

"You only live once, Marco!" Was all she said before she steadied herself and leaped out of the basket. "CANNONBALL!" She plummeted all the way towards the ground - much to Marco's horror - only to safely splash into the ocean and emerge unharmed.

Shellshocked, Marco cupped his eyebrows, sighed, and also began undressing until he was down to his underpants. Luckily he was wearing boxers today. The hot air balloon attendant was speechless.

"Y...Your girlfriend's a lunatic, you know that?" He finally spatted out, which surprised Marco. But ultimately it ended with him laughing.

"Yeah, she is." He said in response. "But she's _my_ lunatic. I'm gonna _marry_ that lunatic someday." With that, he took all of his clothes with him and leaped over the edge as well. "GERONIMO!" He plummeted towards the ocean and safely splashed it not too far from Star, emerging unharmed and with his clothes in hand. He swam over to Star who began laughing hysterically. "Are you out of your mind!?" He shouted at her with a tone mixed with concern and utter joy.

"Well of course I am! But you knew that already." She retorted back.

"I only wish I had brought our swim suits along, had I known this was going to happen."

"You know, Marco, sometimes spontaneity is the best way to go. If we had known this was going to end up happening, we probably would've gone a bit overboard trying to prepare for it. Instead, it just happened and look where we are now."

He gave her speech some thought. "That's true. Like with...with our intimacy. We didn't go into this wanting or even anticipating it. It just happened."

"And now it's one of my favorite things to do with you."

"Mine too."

"Although...sometimes planning something ahead _can_ work out."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well...this all gave me a neat idea." She inched closer to him and started whispering something into Marco's ear. The substance perked Marco's ears a bit. "Okay, I stand corrected. _Now_ you're out of your mind." His response got her to giggle. "Although that _does_ sound like fun. But we'd have to get creative with getting our luggage back home first."

"Or we could just ask Tom to make a portal and bring it back home."

"W...wait...he can still do that?"

"...I mean I assume he can. It was only _magic_ that got destroyed, and I'm pretty sure Tom's demon stuff isn't classified as magic. I could be wrong..."

"I could always ask him for you."

"You'd do that?" She asked; he smiled and nodded. "Thanks. And if we can't see it through, no big deal. We'll just go home the normal way."

"Personally I think the normal way is overrated with us. Let's go crazy."

"_Now_ you're speaking my language." They enjoyed in another kiss before swimming back to shore, making sure to do their best to keep their clothes from getting too wet from the ocean.

**End of Chapter 16!**

**Yep, this one's a little bit shorter, I apologize for that. It's not intentional, and hopefully the next chapter will be longer. We're starting to enter the end of this story. Only a few days left in their vacation and they'll be heading home soon.**

**Also, be on the lookout for that Christmas fic I teased in the last chapter. I may or may not end up publishing the first chapter before I finish this fic, but as I mentioned, the ending of this fic doesn't preclude you from jumping into the Christmas one.**

**As always, please read & review!**


	17. Shopping Spree

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Shopping Spree**

**Original Postdate: October 15, 2019**

* * *

**Day 12**

Their vacation was winding down. They were going to make the most of the time they had left, no matter what. Today's activity? A shopping spree for souvenirs for their loved ones and/or things for themselves! Marco took Star to the nearest mall - or at least a mall-esque store - for a traditional day of splurging. It was _enormous_, and it left Star's jaw almost completely on the ground. "I've never seen anything like this before! I don't remember Mewni having anything like it."

"You ready to go nuts and throw money at _everything_?" Marco teased.

"Am I!?" She cheered. "Metaphorically, right?"

Marco's face went deadpan. "Yes, Star. Metaphorically."

"Okay, good. What? I don't want to make a mess in here."

He rolled his eyes and laughed as they entered the palace of many things, prepared to go crazy & bring home lots of souvenirs. "Alright, let's do this."

The mall was so huge, both of them figured it would take a long time to comb through the entire place just to find some souvenirs. But since this was their activity for the day, they weren't in any rush to finish fast. So they decided to just stroll along and explore the place, seeing what they could find. Their first stop was over by the toys section. There was a wide array of toys to choose from. Not many of them actually piqued their interest, though. "Maybe it's just me, Marco, but a lot of these toys seem to be...too young for me."

"Guess they seem to get a lot of young kids in this store." Marco commented. "Otherwise why carry so many toys geared for that age group."

"Well it's simply supply and demand, Marco." Star explained. "Obviously the higher a demand there is for a product or service the more supply a manufacturer or business will produce for said good or service while charging obscenely high prices for it. Conversely, the lower a demand for a product or service, the less supply and lower prices will be for said product or service. It's basic capitalism." She proudly smiled following her little mini-rant, looking over casually at Marco to see he was almost jaw dropped at having just heard her say that. She snort-laughed and walked over to him. "You don't know _everything_ about me." She said as she kissed his cheek and lightly tapped his rear end. "Come on, maybe there's some more toys over here."

She turned the corner and found some more toys, toys far more age appropriate for the two. What really caught her eye, though, were inflatable dolls that were visible near the back of the aisle. Most of them were the size of Star. She rushed immediately over to these inflatable dolls, reading off the labels that were on the shelf holding them. "_Beat 'Em Up Buddy._"

"What did you find?" Marco asked finally joining her. He immediately took note of the inflatable dolls she was looking at. "Huh..."

"What _are_ these?"

"They're inflatable dolls." He walked over to one of them and pulled it out, demonstrating how it worked. "See?" He banged into it, and it hit the floor, bouncing around but not breaking. "You can pounce on it all you want and it won't break. And these are the new, longer-lasting ones, to boot!"

His explanation fascinated her. "So...if I wanted to, you know, hit something out of frustration, I could just beat the living snot out of this inflatable toy and it would never ever go back on me?"

Marco's eyes went wide for a moment. For some unexplained reason, that was not a scenario he had even considered. "Wow, I didn't even think of that! Sure, go for it." He picked the doll back up and put it in their shopping cart.

"Wait, really?"

"Why not? I don't think you would've said anything if you didn't think it would help, right?"

She realized he was right. "True."

"Better this toy than a mirror, right?"

"Oh, definitely."

"Then it's settled. Let's see what else this place has."

Though Marco wasn't in the mood to buy himself a toy, he was eager to see what the rest of this place provided, knowing there was at least _something_ waiting for him. Along the way they passed by the clothing area of the store. While Star originally went in deadset on looking only for Marco and not for herself, she passed by the girls' section of the clothing area, specifically the area that housed...wedding dresses. She caught the view of a random wedding dress hanging up, and the mere sight of it mesmerized her, pulling her away from Marco. Luckily for her, Marco caught on to the fact that she had disappeared from his side, and he looked back to see her staring intently at the dress. He wheeled back up to her.

"It's beautiful." Marco said, admiring the dress she had her eyes on it. "Did you...want to try it on?"

His question got her to snap out of her trance and shoot her head in his direction. "No! I-I mean n-no that's okay. We're not here for this, I was just looking. I think our folks would have too many questions about it, anyway."

He smiled warmly. "You really want to, though, don't you?"

She took her gaze off of him and moved it towards the floor, rubbing her arm in discomfort. "...maybe? But you know what? It's okay, really. I don't need a silly old wedding dress to look beautiful for you." He started to blush as she continued speaking. "I don't need a wedding to tell me that I'm you're wife. I already believe all of that in my heart and that's all that matters to me."

He reached out and embraced her. "Are you sure? It wouldn't be any trouble."

She nodded. "I'm sure. Maybe next time." She smiled warmly back at him and then reached out to kiss the boy. "I don't need a fancy dress to feel beautiful. You don't need a fancy suit to make you feel beautiful. All we need is each other."

"You're not just saying this?"

She shook her head. "I'm not all that high-maintenance with stuff like that. I think a lot of it is just how burnt out I am on royalty & stuff, but..."

He tightened his hug & kissed her again. "Star, it doesn't matter what you wear..._or don't wear._" He said those last three words under his breath, but she still caught them and her face went bright red as a result. "You're stunning every second of every day."

"So are you, Marco. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

They moved away from the wedding dress area and went towards the general clothing area, which was separate from the wedding dresses for some reason. Star found herself glossing over the ordinary dresses - ones similar to what she wears on a regular basis - and being absolutely enthralled with them. She picked out one in particular - a purple dress in a similar vein to her aqua blue sleeveless dress, only on this one the sleeve edges were made to appear tattered, as was the bottom part of the dress. Her eyes instantly lit up, and without even saying a word, Marco gently grabbed it from her and put it in their shopping cart, delighting her further.

But that wasn't to say she was only looking for herself. Along the way she passed by the men's clothing area and saw a lovely brown suit jacket/brown vest/brown dress pants combo that absolutely delighted her. She couldn't help but picture what Marco looked like wearing that outfit, and her fantasy had her in such a wonderful mood. She rushed over with the suit in hand, and just like her, his eyes also lit up. Although at that point it occurred to him that they needed to try on their outfits to ensure that they fit.

Star got the message, but of course she had to have her teasing in too. "Marco, if you wanted to be naughty, all you had to do was say so."

He rolled his eyes and laughed, leading her to the store's dressing room. They each entered one of the stalls and tried on their respective new outfits. They exited their stalls simultaneously, staring at each other and examining their partner's new wardrobe. Star was the first to speak.

"You...you look _delicious._" Star said, completely infatuated by Marco's new look.

"So do you, Star." Marco said back, completely red in the face. "That color looks amazing on you."

"Aww, stoooop." They embraced each other & kissed. "We are totally getting these outfits."

"Oh yeah. We _rock_ these looks." He posed in his brown suit, getting a laugh from her.

"Oh Marco...you rock _anything_ you wear." She kissed him again. "_Even when you're not wearing anything."_

His eyes went wide and his face even redder, but eventually it gave way to laughter. "_That goes double for you, you know._" He whispered back, eliciting the exact same reaction from her. Eventually both of them broke out in spontaneous laughter before kissing again and then changing out of their outfits.

* * *

They decided next to head to the jewelry area of the store. They were hoping to get some quality pieces of jewelry for their folks, but they were having a difficult time finding anything that they thought were acceptable to present to them. Along the way Star's eyes caught a glimpse of what appeared to be the section in the glass where they kept the rings. One pair of diamond rings in particular caught her eye, which Marco also picked up on.

"They look gorgeous." He said, smiling and putting a hand of comfort on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Marco. I'm just looking." She said back.

"Are you sure? I could totally swing it if-"

"No, really, it's fine." She was smiling warmly as she turned to face him. "I appreciate the sentiment but you don't have to throw money at everything I look at. I'm not going to take advantage of you any more than I feel like I have."

"But Star you _haven't-"_

"Besides..." She looked down at her right hand, gazing at the promise ring on her ring finger. It made her smile, as it did for Marco. "These promise rings...they mean way more to me than those diamond rings ever could."

"Really?"

"Yeah. B-Because they're yours. Okay, so they were your _parents_, technically, but they're _your_ parents so I'm counting that."

Marco chuckled. "I know what you're saying."

"I'm pretty low maintenance about this kind of stuff. Sure I like to dress up, and sure I like to look good for you..._and I know I do._" She purred at him, winking her eyes repeatedly, getting more red blush from him. "But I'm not one of those girls that's gonna get all uppity if I don't have all of the most expensive jewelry or clothes or possessions or anything like that. That's not the kind of relationship I want."

"You know I don't mind spoiling you, Star. It...it makes me feel like I'm doing something right." He admitted.

"D'aww...you're such a softie." Another kiss from her. "But that doesn't matter to me. You _already_ spoil me, just by loving me and putting up with me and making me feel like I'm important & that I matter. That's why I know that when we finally make it official, it'll be more than worth the wait."

He embraced her and caressed her hair. "You're right. I love you."

"I love you too."

"And you're sure you don't see anything you want to get for yourself?"

"Positive. Although I wish I could find something to get my parents. I dunno I just suddenly feel like I should get something for them..."

"I'm sure they'd understand if you didn't, though."

"Yeah, I know. But nothing says we can't at least try, right?"

Marco pondered the thought while staring at his girlfriend, whose almost puppy-dog eyes made him weak. "Of course we can. Do you have any ideas?"

Star's face instantly beamed in delight before falling, as she realized...no, she didn't have any ideas at all, indicated by her sheepish shrug. "Not a clue. I _really_ need to catch up with my parents when we get back home."

"Well your mom's taking up painting, right? Maybe we can get her some art books or something to use as inspiration?"

"Huh. You know, that actually sounds pretty smart."

"And your dad wants to be a sumo wrestler?"

"Last I checked he did, but his life's ambition changes like he changes underwear."

"TMI, Star." A brief awkward silence followed, which was then followed up with raucous laughter and another kiss. "Maybe this place has something for your parents."

"You wouldn't mind looking with me?"

He shook his head happily. "Not at all. But let's not go too crazy with it. It's still yo-_our_ vacation."

It's amazing what one simple word can do. Star smiled widely and hugged him again. "Thank you. Now was that so hard to say?"

He smiled shyly before giving way to an uneasy frown. "Actually, it...kinda was."

Her face fell slightly as she pulled away and looked him in the eye. "...I'm sorry."

"No, it's just..." He sighed. "I know where you're coming from when you say you hate when you feel useless or like you're not doing anything for me. I guess trying to say this was just your vacation was my way of feeling like-"

"You were contributing?" He nodded solemnly. "You're such a sweetheart. But no, you were right this time. This is _our_ vacation. Not my vacation. _Ours_. After all, even heroes needs their rest."

"Well we've done plenty of that on this..." That H word caught him off guard, causing him to lose his train of thought. "What did you say?"

She looked down at the ground. Time for another awkward confession. "I think you heard me." She embraced him again, preparing herself for the onslaught of emotions. "The other day...when you said that you looked at me as a hero."

"...yeah?"

She took a deep breath and finally looked up at him, gazing into his eyes, which only helped alleviate a small bit of the onslaught of anxiety. "I always felt like everyone would look at me like I didn't know what I was doing, and that I had to be "rescued" or "saved" like some helpless damsel in distress. So I always used to scoff at the idea of heroism and all that. That's why I got so upset at you with the whole Blood Moon thing. But...it never even dawned on me that somebody could look at me and see me as _their_ hero."

Both of their eyes began to swell up and redden. "Star, I-"

"The fact that you can look at me..._me_...and see someone that inspires you to be better, someone that you can look up to..." Her voice trailed off, struggling to find the words to complete her thought. Marco took his hands and put them on her shoulders, slowly bringing her into another hug.

"I meant every word of what I said. It takes a lot of strength to go through what you went through for so long. I never really felt like I was doing much to make it easier for you-"

"No, but you were!" She argued. "You _did_ make it easier to handle."

"How?"

"You were _there_ for me. You gave up _everything_ in your life just to come back to Mewni, just to _be_ with me. And I was trying to move on from you because I never thought I would see you again. A-And then I started dating Tom again and that must've been _sooo_ awkward for you." She groaned loudly, sensing an impending implosion coming and wanting to stave it off. "But you stuck around. Through all of it. And you helped make being Eclipsa's royal adviser so much easier."

"Did I, though? You were still exhausted by the end of it and I felt _so_ bad for you..."

"Oh, hush. You did great. It's not _your_ fault she didn't want to be queen which resulted in _me_ having to carry the workload."

"But-"

"Just you being _there_ to pick me up when I was down and motivate me to keep going...you had no reason to stay, but you did." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I guess what I"m trying to say is...you look at me as _your_ hero? Well...Marco...you're _my_ hero." His jaw almost completely dropped. Him? A hero to Star? He wanted to believe that she was just yanking his chain, but the look of pride on her face said otherwise. "I don't _need_ a hero, and I certainly don't deserve one, but...if anyone _has _to fill that role, I'm glad it's you. I wouldn't want anyone else."

His eyes & smiled screamed "proud boyfriend." To have his own girlfriend call him her hero...how much better could it get? They both hugged each other again & wrapped themselves in a kiss. "Thank you, Star."

"No, thank _you_." They both wiped tears from the other's eyes and shared a laugh. "Hey how about we finish up here and go back to the hotel? Maybe we can have ourselves a hero's dinner?"

"That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."

"Great! Let's do it!"

* * *

After wrapping up their shopping spree - and thankfully finding a few souvenirs for their friends & family back home - they returned to their hotel room, where the two of them partook in cooking themselves a nice, big dinner. At Marco's suggestion, they were making a big heaping plate of steak quesadillas, stacked with tomatoes, peppers, onions, cooked steak, and lots and lots of cheese.

"I haven't had these in forever." Star remarked as they finished up the cooking. "I hope they're as good as I remember."

"Prepare to have your taste buds tantalized!" Marco declared, which got Star to giggle. She took one of the quesadillas and took a big bite out of it. Her face instantly brightened.

"Omigosh YES DIAZ YES! This is awesome!" She shouted happily, gobbling up her entire quesadilla in almost no time flat. "You sure know your way around a kitchen."

"Oh please, I couldn't have done this without my partner in crime." He tickled underneath her chin, getting her to laugh.

"Oh you..."

Several minutes of quiet passed as the two chowed down on their dinner. Quiet reflection of their time together on this vacation filled their heads with fantasies of joy...and for Star, fantasies of uncertainty and possibly regret. "What's wrong?" Marco finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing, it's just...tomorrow's our last day to get to do fun things." She said, her tone rather fallen. "Time's gone by so fast, it feels like we just got here."

"I know what you mean. It's been the best two weeks of my life. I'm so glad we got to do this."

"Me too. I'm just not ready for it to end."

"You still nervous about having to go back home to the cleaving?"

"Kinda, but it's more just 'I'm having so much fun with you and I don't want it to end." She sighed. "We've grown so close together in just these two weeks."

"I know. And we're not going to lose any of it. I'll make sure of it." Marco said confidently & sternly. "I don't want to lost it either. Especially the..."

"Oh _that_ part we better not lose."

"We won't. It's...it's been my favorite part of this whole trip."

"Mine too." She suddenly looked away from him, looking at her food, her hands, and then finally around the room before returning her gaze to him. "So...do you want to tell them? You know...about it?"

It was now his turn to look away briefly from her. "I..."

"I'm leaving it up to you. I'll happily back whatever you want us to do. If you want to tell them, we can tell them when we get home. If you don't, we can keep it our little secret and just make it work somehow. I trust your judgement no matter what."

Decisions, decisions. And this was not one that Marco could afford to make lightly. Sure, the obvious answered seemed to be "Just tell them, they'll understand," but it wasn't that simple. Even with his parents being chill and cool with a lot of what Star & Marco had done over the past year plus, and Star's parents, mainly Moon (unbeknownst to them) pledging to be far more affectionate and more patient with Star than in the past, there was simply no guarantee they would listen to their sexual excursions and say "Well this is all fine and dandy, carry on." But then there was the flip side: could Marco really see himself lie to his and Star's folks about something like this? It was a pretty big step in their relationship, and one that neither of them ever took lightly. Trying to hide it from them just to keep their fun going had the potential to spectacularly blow up in their faces.

After much deep internal contemplation, he finally reached a decision. "Okay..." He took a deep breath. "I'll tell them."

Star began to nod. "I completely support yo-wait, _you'll_ tell them?"

"Yeah, I'll take the hit-"

"Okay, no. No no no, just stop. _Stop._" She shushed him. "_We'll_ tell them."

"Star I don't want you to get in trouble for this. B-Besides, it was _my_ feelings for you that started this whole thing." While Marco was babbling, Star slowly stood up from her chair and walked over to him. "If I could've just kept my eyes off of your incredible, beautiful butt none of this wou-" And his paranoid ramblings were stopped when she kissed him passionately on his lips, bringing her under her romantic spell, pun intended.

"Marco...you are _such _a dork. Also, _beautiful_ you say..." Now she was just flirting with him, purring in his direction and getting him to laugh. "Look I appreciate the sentiment but _no_. We're _not_ doing that. We're a team. Either we tell them together or we don't tell them at all, and I'm fine with either option."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Besides I'd rather be there by your side to support you when we tell them. It's our fight and it's _our_ relationship. We share the good, and we suffer the bad _together_." She kissed him again.

"Okay, if you're sure. We'll tell them together."

"Attaboy. Now how's about we finish up our dinner and then go have some fun? I think we could both use a little loosening up."

"You know we don't _need_ a reason to do it."

"I know. But it's a little more fun when we have one."

"True."

"Plus...who knows? Maybe we'll beat our personal best again." She helped him out of his chair, and for the longest time they held each other, smiling, gazing into each other's lively eyes. "What?"

"I just...I can't ever get enough of you." He said happily. "I could spend every second of the next thousand years being next to you and it still wouldn't be enough."

"Awwww, you're too nice. Well, I hope we get to spend even longer than that together. Even if we won't live nearly that long."

They chuckled before sharing one more kiss with each other, this one sending sparks flying all throughout the room. When they finally pulled apart, they looked through each other's eyes into the other's soul. "With or without magic..." Marco started.

"...We belong together." Star finished. And with that, they cleaned up the kitchen and raced for their bedroom, ready for a night of beautiful fun. Their vacation might be on the downswing, but the fun will never stop with these two.

**End of Chapter 17!**

**Not much left for this story, a few chapters at most. It's been a hell of a lot of fun to write, and I'm thankful to everyone who's stuck around.**

**If you're late to the party, I also just released the first chapter to a _third_ fanfiction in my post-cleaved series entitled "Beautiful Christmas" which technically should be the _fourth_ but hey inspiration is weird like that.**

**Please visit my profile page as I've layed out my Post-Cleaved Timeline in more thorough detail. **

**And as always, please read & review!**


	18. Photo Finish

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Photo Finish**

**Original Postdate: October 19, 2019**

* * *

**Day 13**

It was here. The last day of their incredible vacation. It was almost hard for them to believe. It was the only thing either of them could really think about while they were packing their suitcases and their belongings. Neither really said anything while they packed. What could they say? What could they talk about? It was literally the most depressing part of their entire trip. Because it signified the _end_ of their trip.

But finally, they finished packing and returned to the bed, lying down next to each other and holding each other as only they could. "...last day." Marco finally spoke up after endless silence.

"...Yup." Neither were really in the mood to confront it. "I'm _soooo_ happy." Star said sarcastically, the disappointment palpable.

"So am I." His sarcasm wasn't nearly as strong but the disappointment sure was. "Best two weeks, though. Right?"

"Totally." She kissed him passionately, giggling in the process. "Thank you _so_ much for all of this, Marco. You seriously didn't have to do all of this."

"Oh stop it, it was no trouble. I would do it again in a heartbeat." He returned the kiss, stroking her hair and then lightly patting her rear end.

"I hope you mean that. I want all of this again _soooo_ badly."

"Only the best for my queen."

"Awww, you." Even more kissing from the two lovebirds. The time freezing spell would sure come in handy right about now. "So...question."

"Shoot."

"What was your favorite part of this trip?" She smiled warmly at him as she anticipated an answer from him.

"...my favorite part?"

"Mmm-hmm. We've done so many cool things and had so much fun these two weeks. Anything stand out to you?"

"You mean..." He couldn't even pretend to give it any significant thought. He already had an answer before she even finished the question. "You mean _besides_ the...the intimacy?"

Her smile widened and she developed a bright red blush. "How did I know you were going to say that?"

"I don't know. Was it because you were thinking the same thing?"

She couldn't possibly argue with him there. She nodded. "Well it _is_ pretty great."

"I'm not gonna lie, I think it's the best thing that's come out of this whole trip, bar none. I...I sometimes have to pinch myself, I just can't believe that it's real."

"I know exactly how you feel, Marco." Now Marco's patting of her rear end turned to gentle squeezing, which got a giddy giggle from her. " I love it. I love _everything_ about it, and I love that I get to do it with you."

"Me too, Star." He chuckled as they kissed again, pulling themselves closer to each other. "I guess I really owe Janna a thank you."

His statement got her to cock her head a bit, clearly lost. "Janna?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember how this all started..._Star needs someone to watch her **back**, not her **backside**."_ Words that were quoted verbatim from their experience with Queen Solaria back when they had to take down the Magic High Commission for their treason.

"Ohhhhhh _now_ I remember!" And now they could both laugh about it, no strings attached. "You know Janna was just joking with you, right?"

He laughed. "Yeah I'm sure she thought she was, but...maybe she knew about me at the time than I did."

"Well it all worked out in the end, anyway, right?'

"That's true. If it hadn't been for that moment spurning our talk, maybe none of this happens. Or at least, maybe it doesn't happen this quickly."

"I still remember you being _so_ dang nervous about that. You thought I would think the worst of you just because you had the decency to realize my tush is actually nice." She gently kissed his cheek while he blushed. "Bet you're not nervous anymore, huh?"

He slightly hesitated with his answer. "Well, I'm definitely much less nervous now than I was, that's for sure. Still, I have to be careful. It's not like it's that easy to control myself when I'm right next to the most beautiful girl this world has ever seen."

"Oh stop..." Her face was bright red now. "You're too sweet. And it's not like _you_ make it any easier, being such a hottie yourself."

"You're making me blush." They laughed together, reveling in their respective beauty. "You know the amusement park was pretty fun."

She gasped in delight. "It was! I can't believe that's the same park I used to go to as a kid. What are the odds!?"

"Now that's a heck of a coincidence."

"Oh, oh! The spa was nice!"

"You think so?"

"I know so. And I gotta say, I could _definitely_ go for another massage one of these days. But only if _you_ give it to me this time." She purred flirtatiously, getting him to laugh again. "How about it, Mr. Diaz?"

"If you wanted a massage from me, all you had to do was ask."

"Well I am _now_. Your touch _is_ quite magical. Why else would I always ask you to keep your hands on my butt?"

They shared another laugh _and_ another kiss. "You're never going to get over that, are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine by me." He smiled warmly; seemed like his eyes glimmered every time he looked into hers. And for her just the same. "We've done so many amazing things on this vacation. We've got enough memories to last us a lifetime. But..."

"None of it, compares, does it?"

He hesitated. But only briefly. "No, it doesn't. It's all been amazing, but...getting to be intimate with you, getting to _love_ you in a whole new way...it just beats everything."

"You don't have to feel weird about thinking that way. I agree with you." She caressed his cheek gently and leaned in for another kiss. "I'm so glad we took that leap of faith. Best decision we've ever made."

"You got that right."

"I just _really_ hope we don't have to give it up when we go back home. I can't imagine a life where we're not able to do this the way we want to."

"I know how you feel, and I promise you nothing's going to stop us."

She smiled, but only briefly before giving way to a frown. "...even if we have to be sneaky about it?"

Again he hesitated. "I hope we won't have to be, but if we do...then yeah." They kissed once more, this one lasting for some time. It was like they were both on cloud nine. "So...is there anything else you want to do? Last day, might as well make the most of it, right?"

"I don't think I'm up for anything big, to be honest." She said, looking at the bed sheets. "But...there _is_ one thing I wanted to do before we went home? It's nothing big a-and it's not a dealbreaker, but-"

"Whatever it is, name it." He said confidently. His smile melted away some nerves of her. She whispered her desires into his ear, and he raised a curious eyebrow. "Photo booth?" She smiled back and responded with a nod. "You sure?"

"Well I figured we haven't really gotten that many pictures as a couple together yet. I know you've been filming like _everything_ we do - except the intimate parts, thank you - but it's not the same as the photo booth, right? Plus I thought this time...you know, we could do it _right_."

"What do you mean by that?"

She sighed, sitting up and fixing her hair. Marco followed suit. "This is gonna be weird to hear, but..."

"Let me guess." He interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The last time we did the photo booth doesn't sit well with you knowing what you know now?"

She stayed silent momentarily, letting his words sink in, before finally letting out a groan and facepalming herself. "Am I _that_ predictable?" He brought her in for a hug.

"Hey, it's okay. Really."

She looked up slightly to meet his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"We can't undo any of that stuff, a-and frankly you shouldn't _want_ to." He explained. "So what if you've made mistakes along the way? Everyone does. It's how we learn and grow as people. If you try to erase all of your mistakes or pretend they didn't happen, you're never going to move forward."

Damn, why did Marco have to be so logical all the time? "You're right."

"Besides, we took some pretty neat pictures that day."

"We did, didn't we? But I think we can outdo ourselves."

"I couldn't agree more. The hotel lobby has a photo booth, if you really want to do this."

"Let's go for it!" She leaped out of bed, reinvigorated. "And hey, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can come back up here for some "end of vacation fun," if you know what I mean?" Boy did he love it when she flirted like this.

"Oh I do. And I am _so_ game for it!" He took leaped out of bed and joined her, eager for their last day's activity to commence.

* * *

They found the hotel's photo booth with ease, and it was completely empty, so they had it all to themselves. They entered the booth with money at the ready. "You ready?" He asked her.

"Oh yeah! Let's do it!"

And so their super fun session of "hilarious laugh-inducing photo booth" commenced. They started off simple, with simple but fun smiles, somewhat mugging to the camera. Next came the ever-fun animal-imitation faces, with even more mugging to the camera. After that came a new set of mugs - the flirting faces. It was a new addition to their repertoire of funny faces to make to the camera, not really even planned, juts spurned as a result of their newfound intimacy.

After they took a few sets of photos, they took a break to review their work. Needless to say, they were quite impressed with what they churned out. They were laughing like crazy at the silliness captured in each little photo. "Seriously, could we _be_ any cuter?" Star gushed, kissing Marco's cheek.

"I'd love to find out, that's for sure!" He answered back, returning the kiss.

"So does this beat Mewni's photo booth or...?"

"By a country mile." He proudly said. "I don't feel my guts trying to eat themselves or anything of the sort."

"Neither do I!" They high-fived and then kissed again. A brief silence followed as they contemplated their next move. "What do you want to do now? Do you want to take more, or...?" He smiled sheepishly and looked away, face red and everything. She knew what his answer would be, but she wanted to hear it from him. "Do you want to go back to our room? Finish our trip with some _fun?"_

His smile grew wider. "You know what? That sounds like a _perfect_ way to end our vacation."

"I couldn't agree more. But let's not just make this _any_ ole fun."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." She squinted her eyes and smirked giddily. "Do you think we could make it the whole night?"

His smile fell and his eyes went big. "The whole night?"

"Yeah, why not?"

He was left almost speechless. Almost. "Wow. Y-You weren't kidding when you said 'fun."

"I mean I don't know if we physically _could_, but...you know, it might be the last time for a while we can capitalize on this, so...go big or go home, right?"

"But we're _already_ going home anyway."

She gave him a clearly unamused glare. "Way to ruin the moment, Diaz."

"Oh give me a break, you're still amped up for this. Admit it."

"Okay, okay, you got me." She playfully teased as they kissed once more. Star took another dollar bill from Marco's hoodie pocket. "One more for the road?"

He eagerly nodded as she put the dollar into the pay slot. One last set of pictures to commemorate their vacation. In an exact mirror of the fated booth on Mewni, their first picture was of them happily smiling at the camera. The second saw Marco turn his head to face Star. The third saw Star turn to face him. And the last saw them both connect for a kiss, although this one was _far_ more passionate than that first booth kiss. It was a perfect encapsulation of their long journey to get here as a couple.

* * *

_**I**** really wanna love somebody**_  
_**I really wanna dance the night away**_

After finishing in the booth, they returned to their room and proceeded to commence an intimate all-nighter. It was a feat that they both believed wasn't going to be possible, but hey, it was the last day. Star had a point: why not go for it and see what would happen?

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them, just the normal, loving intimacy that they've established over the past week. They didn't really need more than that. They didn't really _want_ more than that. What they had was special, and it was more than enough for them. "I love you, Marco." She whispered to him after they pulled apart from an endless kiss.

"I love you too, Star. With everything that I have."

"Please don't ever let me go."

"I couldn't ever imagine that."

**_I know we're only halfway there_**  
**_But you can take me all the way_**

She tightened his embrace on him and nuzzled her head against his chest, breathing deeply in relief. "You know, I keep thinking..."

"About what?"

"You know that seminar we went to? The one that...led to all this...?"

"Yeah...?"

"You know how they said that people call this either "having sex" or "making love." Why is that? Why are there two different terms to describe it?"

Marco shrugged; it was a legitimate question that he never gave a second thought to. "I guess it's a matter of personal preference? Does it really make a difference?"

"Well...I think it does. To me at least." They halted and looked at each other. Star's eyes were glimmering with curiosity and uncertainty. "The first phrase just feels like...I don't know, it feels really...generic. Like it doesn't really mean anything. Like we're just going through the motions."

Marco hesitated; the correct word choice here was critical. "You don't...feel like that with me, do you-"

"No, Marco." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "That's exactly my point. I don't feel like we're just going through the motions here. _This_ feels _special_ to me. Because it's with someone that means everything to me, someone that makes me feel safe every chance they get. Because it's with _you_."

**_You can take me all the way_**

He smiled and blushed hard. "D'aww, thank you."

"Anytime. I just really like the other phrase better..._making love_. Because this feels like love."

"I agree with that."

She kissed him again, squishing his cheek as gently as she could with her own. "I'm sorry if that's a weird thing to be conscious about."

"No, it's not. It's sweet. And for whatever it's worth...I like making love with you."

She smiled widely. "I like making love with you too."

_**I really wanna touch somebody  
I think about you every single day**_

And so they resumed, gently melting themselves into each other, their respective auras merging into one. The beauty, the love, the joy, all of it sublime. And there was no intention on either party of ending it any time soon. But of course, Father Time is undefeated. The hours passed by mercilessly, the calendar day flipping in the process. When they said they were gonna go all night, they meant it. Unfortunately, it was also happening on the day they needed to be up early to check out of their room.

As the clock struck midnight, they finally pulled apart from their kiss again after what seemed like an eternity. Despite the fatigue, both of them smiled and beamed with pure love and pride. Star was the one to catch the time on the clock. "Wow...Marco, I think we've smashed our personal best."

He turned around to catch the clock himself. She was right. "Oh definitely." And then he followed that with a yawn.

"Tired?" He nodded silently. "Me too. But I kinda don't want to stop either."

"Me neither. But I think we'll set off a few alarm bells if we go back all disheveled and exhausted."

"That's true." She sighed softly and also yawned. "I was really hope we could go until morning, but..."

"Hey." He gently caressed her cheek. "We'll get plenty of other chances. _That_ I promise you."

"Thanks, Marco." They kissed again and cuddled against each other as closely as they humanely could.

_**I know we're only halfway there**  
**But you can take me all the way**_  
**_You can take me all the way_**

"Goodnight Mr. Butterfly." She said softly as she nuzzled herself against his chest and slowly fell asleep.

"Night, Mrs. Diaz." He said softly back, following her shortly after into dream land.

* * *

The following morning, the two lovebirds awoke, showered, dressed themselves, and checked out of their hotel with relative ease (with Marco _finally_ alerting the staff to the broken shower in their suite). They exited the hotel with all of their luggage and belongings and waited outside by the front door for Tom to arrive. Their return plan was being put into place. Both were visibly tired with messy hair, but neither really cared. Now it was time for the waiting game, as they took a seat by the fountain seated in the lawn.

"Hey Marco..." Star said looking over at her best friend. "Thanks again for this trip."

He smiled warmly and kissed her. "It was no trouble."

"Well I am _so_ going to pay you back for all of this."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm serious, it was no trouble."

"I know you say that, but..."

"Look I know you want to be independent and prove to yourself that you can handle it, and I know you're going to get there one day. But don't go crazy over this. It was _my_ gift to you and I'll do it again in a heartbeat."

She scooched closer to him - carefully making sure his hand was on the surface they were sitting on so she could sit on his hand - and hugged him. "You make for such a great husband."

"And you make for a wonderful wife." He responded; he was blushing, completely aware of where she was sitting. But before their moment could become potentially more intimate, a firey portal appeared seemingly out of nowhere next to them. Out of the portal popped their demon friend, Tom.

"TOM!" Both Star and Marco shouted, rushing over to him before he even steadied himself and embraced him. When they pulled apart, Tom took notice of their persons.

"You guys look great!" He said, noticing that despite their obvious immediate fatigue, their spirits were greatly lifted. "...Mostly."

"Don't mind the hair." Star said. "We kinda had a...late night." She was blushing when she said this.

"Oh, you guys were _having__ fun _I see." He playfully messed with them. Oh if only he could've been a fly on their wall.

"Wait, so there's a third phrase for that?!" Star exclaimed in confusion, and once again her misunderstandings of Earth would come back to bite her in some way, as Tom was left jaw-dropped and Marco debated whether to even bother trying to cover it up.

"I...was kidding, Star. Wait, did you...did you guys..." Star and Marco both exchanged looks and blushes with each other before finally turning back to Tom and faintly smiling & nodding. Concern over his reaction was instantly eliminated when he expressed delight. "Wow, congratulations you two!" And he hugged them both again.

"Thanks Tom." Marco said softly. "We're...debating how to break it to everyone else, so would you mind keeping it under wraps for a bit?"

He gave them a thumbs up, then proceeded to make a separate portal for them; this portal would lead Star & Marco to where they needed to go to put their grand entry plan into action. "Your ride's waiting for you guys."

"Thanks again for doing this, Tom." Star said.

"Just come back in one piece, okay?" He said as he took their luggage and started for his own portal. "I'd still want us all to go on that inter-dimensional trip we were planning before we broke up."

"Oh yeah I was gonna ask...what's the deal with...well, _everything_ back home? Like..."

"We'll fill you in when you get home. Everyone can't wait to see you guys." He waved them goodbye as he stepped through his portal with their luggage, leaving them to take the other portal to their own destination. They each took each other's hands.

"You ready?" He asked his girlfriend.

"Ready." She responded. And they walked through the portal together.

* * *

Back in Echo Creek, the Butterfly & Diaz families, as well as Janna, Jackie, and guest Kelly (**whose appearance here _will_ be explained later, promise**) were all stationed outside the front of the Butterfly castle, eagerly anticipating Star & Marco's return. As they were all socializing with each other, a fiery portal formed in the middle of the yard, and Tom stepped through with all of the luggage on him. Tom with the luggage but not Star and Marco instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Wait, where are the children?" Rafael asked immediately.

"Oh don't worry, Mr. Diaz. They're on their way." He reassured everyone.

"Are they alright?" Moon asked. "How's Star?"

"They're _fantastic_."

"But they're not with you." Eclipsa added.

"Well, they had a lot of luggage, so I thought I'd bring it over in advance. You can ask them all about it..." He looked up at the sky; in the distance, he saw a plane flying their way. This was the plane carrying Star & Marco. "...any moment now." He pointed to said plane as it flew closer and closer; everyone gasped in awe. They all had a feeling they knew what was about to happen next.

Star and Marco were going to skydive into the yard for their grand entrance.

**End of Chapter 18!**

**So I feel comfortable saying that there probably will be either 1 or 2 chapters left in this story. For everyone that's followed along since the beginning - or even the beginning of "When Dimensions Cleave" - I want to say thank you. Thanks for reading, thanks for spreading the word. It means a lot to me.**

**I recently published the first chapter of a third fic in this post-Cleaved timeline "Beautiful Christmas," and am even making plans for a fourth one after that one. Check my profile page for information.**

**As always, please read & review!**


	19. Respectful Retrospective

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Respectful Retrospective**

**Original Postdate: October 20, 2019**

* * *

Everyone stared up at the plane flying above their scene. The passenger door was open, and they could all faintly see Star & Marco standing by the ledge, squating, as if they were preparing to jump. "Are those two out of their minds!?" Moon shouted. River was about to add on but was stopped by her. "Don't answer, it was a rhetorical question."

Up on the plane, Star & Marco were preparing themselves for the Leap of Faith of their lives. Nerves shot, sweat dripping, teeth clenches, they were both staring into the face of either exhilarating adrenaline or catastrophic failure. "Here it comes..." Star said, focusing all of her might on keeping her feet steady. She turned to face Marco. "Are you ready?"

He gulped once, wiped his brow, and turned to look at Star. "...No." He admitted.

"Can't say I blame you, but we either do this or it's a one-way ticket to Japan!" She gently grabbed his hand. "Let's do this!"

He smiled, kissed her hand, and nodded proudly. "On three. One...two..."

"**_THREE!_**" They both leaped off the ledge at the same time, hurdling down towards the Butterfly castle and screaming their heads off joyously. On the ground everyone was instantly terrified for their well being, but not long after their leap they pulled their cords, unleashing their parachutes successfully and staving off the potential bodily harm that they faced. The two lovebirds slowly floated down to the ground with everyone around them cheering. At last, after several minutes of freefalling, they touched solid ground again, their parachutes briefly suffocating them before they tossed their backpacks and parachutes off of them and emerged unharmed. "**_TA-DA!_**"

Once they were in the clear, they were bombarded by all of their friends and loved ones with hugs and kisses and expressions of joy that they were finally back home. The reunions were emotional, heartfelt, and filled to the brim with tears. Along the way, Buff Frog and his children exited the front of the Butterfly castle and joined in the touching reunions.

The one Star & Marco were most curious about was Kelly, though they made no secret they were excited to see her. "KELLY!" Both of them yelled towards her as they embraced. Kelly shared that sentiment.

"It's so good to see you guys again!"

"How are you even here!? What happened?" Marco asked. They were understandably confused seeing as they assumed dimensional traveling was no longer viable aside from Tom. But speaking of Tom, here he came holding a small ray gun-like device, handing it to Marco.

"I was going to tell you. You can thank my dad. He's been...let's say he's been dabbling in the art of what your world calls "science." He explained. "After the cleaving, we realized that dimensional traveling was...well, kinda dead. And there's a _lot_ of people in the other dimensions we wanted to check up on to see if they were okay, so he somehow managed to combine our innate dimensional-traveling abilities with...uh...science - I still don't know how this works - and voila! And _that's_ how we brought Kelly here."

Everyone around them were dumbfounded at the explanation. "Wow. That's incredible." Marco said in a daze.

"And now that this thing's proven successful he's moving to mass produce them and make a killing off of them!" He leaned in to whisper to them. "I'll hook you guys each up with one as soon as they're good to go." The three others exchanged smiles at hearing this news.

"So Kelly, how's everything been with...uh...well, the merging and stuff?" Marco asked awkwardly.

"So that's what happened? Your two words just joined together as one?" Kelly asked them; they both nodded. "Wow. That's wild."

Marco nodded in agreement. "Sure is."

"And Star..." Kelly took Star's hands, taking extra note of the bandages still on them. "How're you holding up?"

Star instantly realized that Kelly was at least aware of what had happened to her. There was no use trying to brush it off. "Um, I'm...hanging in there." She admitted. The vacation was fun. It was a life changing experience for her that she wouldn't trade for anything. That didn't mean all of her demons were gone. Far from the truth actually.

"What even happened?"

"We have some catching up to do." But before she could go further, they were approached by the rest of the group.

"Alright, you guys, we want deets!" Janna immediately declared. "Don't leave anything out."

"Janna..." Jackie jabbed her. "Lay off, they just got back. You can't just assume they're up to recounting _everything_ they've done the past two weeks."

"Oh they just don't want to share any of the _juicy, hot_ stuff, right?" She joked with them, not realizing what she was walking into. Star & Marco blushed madly and traded glances, then looked right back at their families.

"Um...yeah...about that..." Marco started awkwardly. Right away the adults could sense there was an uncomfortable conversation forthcoming. Janna also noticed the two lovebirds blushing and started backtracking.

"Hold up, hold up, I-I was just kidding." She said suddenly panicking a bit. "I didn't mean anything by it."

They both smiled warmly, their blush growing stronger. "Janna, it's okay." Star spoke calmly. "We...kind of have something we need to tell you guys, anyway."

* * *

So everyone - with the exception of Buff Frog and his children, who excused themselves since they were planning a surprise for Star - gathered in the castle's living room, seating everyone on the various couches that were moved back in from the throne room. Star was seated in between her parents, and Marco was seated between his (of course with Meteora and Mariposa respectively being held by the lovebirds) and everyone else was scattered.

"Did you have fun?" Moon asked, gently stroking her daughter's hair. Star looked up at her with a shy smile.

"Uh huh. Marco and I had an amazing time. He was just the sweetest thing the whole time." She beamed about her husband-to-be one day. "We had _so _much fun. I got to learn so much about myself."

"That's wonderful!" Eclipsa exclaimed.

"Uh-huh." She nodded in agreement, her face still tense.

"Is everything alright?" River asked a bit hesitantly. She nodded, but said nothing. Nerves were frazzled.

"Look, we have something we need to tell you guys." Marco spoke now. "It's nothing bad - or at least we don't think it is - but we...we don't really want to hide this from you guys."

"Marco, whatever it is, you can tell us." His mother Angie reassured him. "We're not here to judge you two."

He smiled at his mother and took a deep breath. You could cut the tension between Marco & Star with a sword. "Okay..." He was visibly sweating now, struggling to find the right words. As was Star. "See...it...we-"

"**_MARCO AND I MADE LOVE!_**" Star blurted out loudly before covering her mouth and her face going bright red. "...multiple times." Everyone in the room had their jaws on the ground in shock. Nobody could believe it. Well, not that they actually did it - as far as everyone was concerned, it was an inevitability - but rather that they'd be willing to even admit it like this to all of them having no knowledge of how their families would react to it. And how _did_ the families react to it?

Well...there wasn't any anger. They traded concerned and confused glances with each other before turning back to their children. None of them could muster a word to speak. What could they possibly say? What did they want to say?

Finally it was Janna who broke the silence. "I...I don't think we need to be here for this..." She said awkwardly before turning to Kelly. "Hey Kelly, you've never been on Earth before, right?" Kelly shook her head no. "Come on, let's give you the grand tour." So she, Jackie, Tom, and Kelly all stood up and started to make their way out of the castle, waving goodbye to Star and Marco. They could fill them in on the details later. Now the two were alone with their families.

"Where...where should we start?" Star asked. Her mother warmly smiled at her and resumed caressing her hair.

"How about at the beginning?" Moon proposed. Star & Marco looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Okay..." She took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the rabbit hole she was about to go down. Marco would speak first.

"The last couple of weeks, things between Star and I...they've...I guess they've changed. I've started seeing her in a...in a really beautiful light. Like I don't just love this girl. I'm _in love_ with her. Badly."

Star nodded along, a tear forming in her eye as she turned to her mother. "You know that Bubble Butt t-shirt I got for myself? You can thank this wonderful man for the idea." She let out a giggle as Marco started blushing madly. "And he was afraid that I would take issue with him checking me out like that." She chuckled sheepishly, anticipating a sour reaction from the adults for that line. But it never came. They remained unwavering in their focus in giving them the support they needed to get everything out. "I-I'm sure Marco had good reasons to think that looking at me like that wasn't really kosher or appropriate, and maybe it _isn't_, but...I realized...that I actually like it. I _like_ the fact that he's started looking at me in that way. I don't exactly know _why_ I like it, but I do. I want him to be handsy with me, I _want_ him to show me just how crazy his attraction to me really is. "

"Star's just such a beautiful girl..." Marco continued, his face completely red and his eyes unable to make contact with anyone. "She's gorgeous, she's stunning, she's...like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm completely enthralled by her." He admitted. "She's right, I was _petrified_ of what she might think about these kinds of feelings, but to know not only that she's okay with me feeling this way about her, but that she feels the same way about me, it's such a weight lifted." Now he was able to look Star in the eye, smiling at her as she smiled back.

"There was an incident during our vacation..." Star continued. "We went to the pool area, where they had this really neat hottub. We used it...it was so much fun." Now her face was bright red. "But it wasn't working right, a-and I guess the suction thing pulled off our swim trunks, a-and...long story short, we...our bare tushes got exposed." The adults all exchanged silent looks at each other. None of them wanted to say anything. The awkward nature of this conversation justified letting the teens continue.

"Once we got back to our room - without being seen - we...kinda had to talk about it. It was nerve-wracking, I'm not going to lie. But when we finally talked, we decided...we decided we really like what we have. Emotionally, I mean, although I guess _physically_ too." They looked at each other; you could feel the sparks fly even without their lips touching. "You're _so_ beautiful, Star."

'And you're gorgeous, Marco." She turned back to her folks. "We went to this seminar that talked about the maturing human body. It was really informative, and we all got a chance to talk about our own physical, emotional...sexual feelings & experiences. It was eye-opening. It made us both realize..."

"We wanted to go for it." Marco finished for her, with Star nodding gently. "I used protection _every single time_ we went through with it. She wouldn't let me not use it."

"Mmm-hmm." Neither of them realized it but their folks were giving off proud looks on their faces. Although they had apprehensions about this kind of behavior, it was more than clear to all of them that they had thought this thoroughly through, demonstrating a remarkable level of maturity and wisdom for their age, especially for such a sensitive topic. "I actually fell asleep a bit into our first time." Star acknowledged, clearly embarrassed by this fact. "But that just made things even more fun for Marco." She teased, clearly not understanding how that phrasing could be interpreted. She did pick up that something was wrong, as evidenced by the confused looks on their faces. "What?" Marco rushed over to her and whispered something; her eyes went wide as it quickly sank in. "Ohhhhhh. Oh no no no no no no, that's _not_ what I meant at all. It's just that Marco really likes it when I snore like a thousand chainsaws working together, so I'm pretty sure that got him riled up for round 2."

Unfortunately, having to make that correction meant taking the hit on that particular revelation. He pulled up his hoodie and closed it, hiding his face in embarrassment. Star could only laugh. She continued, "Look, we...we can't say that anything that we've done is _right_ or anything. But we didn't think we could hide this stuff from you and feel good about it. It was the best experience I've ever had, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. So...say whatever you need to say to us about this. We're prepared for it. But we don't regret doing it. Not for a second." With that, she and Marco both took a deep breath and exchanged smiles with each other. "Okay, we're done."

A moment of silence followed. There was a right way for this to be handled. Here they were, with Star and Marco having just poured their hearts out to them on the most amazing, heart-rushing, life-changing event of their lives, and it was more than obvious they were still sensitive about it all. They _had_ to handle this with care. So, like most parents would, all of the adults - including Eclipsa and Globgor - rushed towards the two and gave them the biggest hugs they've ever received. While this didn't necessarily mean that the two were off the hook, they did take it as a good sign.

"You guys aren't upset with us?" Marco asked. His own parents smiled quietly at him as Angie ruffled his already messy hair.

"No, we're not upset." She said. "Concerned, yes, but not upset."

"You're not the only ones that went through something like this, you know." Eclipsa said to them.

"But back in our time, there wasn't anywhere near the wealth of information available about this." Globgor added. "All of us had to pretty much figure it out for ourselves."

"Not to say that we necessarily _approve_ of what you've done..." Moon said, the first sign of any genuine pushback against their actions. But it was kept minimal. "But it's obvious you both put a lot of thought into this and took it slow, doing your homework and ensuring that it was something you both wanted. _That_ I can say we're proud of you for."

Star beamed. Compliments from her mother like this always made her smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"And Marco, my boy, sounds like you were a terrific host for her." Rafael gently hugged his son.

"Thanks, Dad. It was a lot of fun. The whole vacation was, but...especially _that_."

"Truth is, we were...we were worried about..." Star couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

"You were worried about losing that intimacy when you came back?" So Eclipsa finished it for her. Shell shocked and terrified of what was possibly coming, Star nodded. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I haven't seen two lovers click the way you do since, well, Globby and I."

It just occurred to Star that she had been misunderstood. "No no no no, I don't mean like that." Eclipsa raised an eyebrow. "I mean we were worried...that-"

"We wouldn't allow it?" Moon finished for her. Star nodded back. Moon sighed.

"I mean don't get us wrong, we'd completely understand if that's what happens. We even debated whether to even say anything at all. But we don't regret doing it, and we don't regret being honest about it. So whatever you guys say...we'll accept it." Inexplicably, Star stood up and walked over to Marco, kissing him gently, sitting on his lap, and hugging him tightly. Angie & Rafael moved over to give them some room. The adults all looked at each other again. No matter where this went, they were immensely proud of their children and how they handled this whole ordeal.

River was the first to break this new silence, doing so with a chuckle. "I've never seen such an adorable pairing since your mother and I." He said proudly. "It's like looking into a mirror." While River was speaking Moon stood up and walked over to the two, knelling down next to them.

"Star...I told you that I trusted this young man to take care of you and protect you no matter what." Moon said to them as they both nodded. "I still believe that." Her response to them surprised them but also got a smile from them. "Someone who goes to the lengths he did to ensure your best interests and your happiness always come first is someone worth keeping." Moon turned to the Diazes. "You've done a marvelous job raising this young man." Both Angie and Rafael were touched by her praise. "And if this _does_ work out for the both of you, then it would be a privilege to call you my son-in-law one day."

The pride on the faces of Rafael, Angie, Star _and_ Marco exploded from their faces. Star moved herself off of his lap, allowing Marco to stand up and lovingly embrace Moon in a hug. To go from uncertainty about whether she even liked him to now being openly embraced as her future son-in-law was an incredible feat, and one Marco was most certainly proud of. "Thank you, Mrs. Butterfly."

"Call me Moon, sweetheart."

"Thank you...Moon." Soon enough everyone joined in on the hug fest. Tears were flying from Star and Marco's eyes, overwhelming them with pride. This awkward conversation had worked out far better than any of them could have imagined. They all pulled apart, giving them the space to breathe normally again.

"Sweetie, how are you feeling?" Eclipsa asked her, deciding to move the topic to something of more immediate importance to them.

"Me? I feel...I feel good." Star said hesitantly. "I slept great, I got to chill out with my best friend in the whole world, and..." Her voice trailed; she realized that wasn't what she was referring to. "Oh, you mean...?" Eclipsa nodded. "I...I'm hanging in there, I guess. I dunno, I guess I was just hoping that these two weeks away from _everything_ would just...magically make things better. Like I'd be all better and the demons would all be gone. It's not that simple, is it?" Eclipsa shook her head; Star sighed, rubbing her arm in distress.

"Hey..." Marco took his hand and gently kissed it, the other adults gushing in awe at the sight of it. "We're gonna help you find a therapist. We're going to help you through this."

The adults exchanged nods. "He's right." Moon continued. "We're all here for you."

River leaned in to his wife to whisper, "Should we should her now?" Moon nodded in response.

"Show me what?"

"Oh we just have a little something for you, is all. Follow us."

The adults all led Star & Marco through the castle up towards Star's room. Upon arriving, they opened the door. Pretty much everything in the room was as Star had left it...with one exception: her bed had been replaced. Her old one was dumped in favor of a brand new, significantly bigger, more colorful bed with a mattress drastically softer than the one she had been accustomed to for years. The new bed was the first thing hers and Marco's eyes caught, with Star running over to the bed to get a feel for it. "Oooh...soft..." She was in awe. "You guys got me a new bed?!"

"Think nothing of it." River said. "But for the record, you were absolutely right. Our old beds were wretched! I never realized how uncomfortable they were until now!"

"While you were away, our castle had a bit of an...infestation problem." Moon explained. "The Diaz family allowed us to stay with them for a day, and they had _the_ most comfortable mattresses I think I've ever slept on."

"_**THANK YOU**__!" _Star exclaimed in relief. So she wasn't crazy about the state of their mattresses. It was like sleeping on concrete compared to Earth beds.

"Well go on. Try it!" River encouarged her.

"I will, I will! Just...later. Last time I tried an actual Earth bed I was out in seconds and asleep for like half a day. I kinda wanna catch up with you guys first."

River shrugged. "Fair enough." He and her daughter shared a nice hug out of this, though.

"You guys didn't have to do this for me, but thank you." Star blushed slightly with pride.

"Perish the thought, it was worth it."

"But that's not all." Eclipsa jumped in. "Buff Frog and Globgor have been working on something else for you."

The adults all next took them towards the back of the castle and into the garden, where - next to Mina and Queen Solaria's graves - there was this big shed waiting for them, with Buff Frog exiting the shed to greet Star. "_**Star**_! You are back!" He yelled.

"Buff Frog!" And Star wasted no time dashing towards him and giving him a hug.

"How was trip?"

"Great! I got so much I gotta tell you, but first-" She pointed to the shed. "What's going on in there?"

"Is surprise for you. Come." He led her to the door and opened in. Inside the shed were bunches of trash cans, punching bags, weapons such as bats, boxing gloves, etcetera, and a boom box that would play music loud enough to drown out the sounds of the objects in them being pounced on. "Ta-da!"

Star was both mesmerized and clearly confused. "What is this?"

"It's your rage room." Marco told her, walking up to the two of them.

"My...rage room?"

"Before we came home I called my folks and told them what had happened and asked for a favor."

"Then they call me and I was happy to help." Buff Frog continued. Star sighed.

"Marco, you are such a doll..." She kissed his cheek. "But I _really_ didn't want anyone else to know about this..."

"Young Butterfly, there is no shame in needing outlet for aggression or despair." Buff Frog explained, taking her shoulder and putting a smile on her face. "You had to swallow a lot to focus on greater good. Lot of personal sacrifice, lot of emotional pain. Now is your turn to focus on yourself."

"And we've got your back every step of the way." Marco assured her, kissing her cheek back and getting another smile from her.

"Thank you." She turned to everyone standing behind her. "All of you." The others nodded to her.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" Globgor asked, holding his toolkit up, ready to build anything if Star asked. The girl pondered the question, going over things in her mind and contemplating her next step. At last something clicked in her head as she gave a soft smile.

"Actually, there _is_ something I feel like I need to do." She explained, turning to Marco again. "And I'd really like it if all of you were there..."

**End of Chapter 19!**

**Okay, NOW I can say: one chapter left after this. It's been an amazing journey going from my first Star vs fic to finishing up this one. I'm so thankful for everyone who's been on the ride with me.**

**Recently I've published the first two chapters of a new post-cleaved fic entitled "Beautiful Christmas" so please check that out. **

**And finally I can say that not much longer after this I'll get to work on yet ANOTHER post-cleaved fic entitled "The Ballad of Earth-Mewni" so stay tuned for that.**

**As always, please read & review! :)**


	20. Final Curtain

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Unforgettable Getaway**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Final Curtain**

**Original Postdate: October 21, 2019**

* * *

So what was the favor Star asked of her family, Marco, and Buff Frog? It was to accompany her to the local Echo Creek cemetery. More specifically, it was to find the grave of Giovanni Hershel Diaz, Marco's late uncle. Strangely enough, Marco did not put the pieces together until they had all arrived at the spot in question and Marco had gotten a good look at the tombstone Star was walking up to. Rafael and Angie were a bit uneasy about this development - at times his death was still raw to them - and Star's parents had no idea what to expect.

Star placed the bouquet of flowers she was holding gently on the ground in front of the tombstone and sat down, preparing herself to speak. "Um...hi, Mr. Diaz." She started, her voice quivering. "M-My name is Star. I'm...I'm your nephew's girlfriend." She spoke very slowly, taking extra time to ensure she articulated properly everything she wanted to say. As for the rest of them, they stood back and let Star speak. "We...We've been together for only a couple of weeks, but...w-well, actually I guess technically we've been together for well over a year now. I mean we didn't start out as dating, but he's been the best friend I've ever had so we might as well have, right?" Sometimes Star did great with speaking. Sometimes she did not. "I'm rambling, where was I? Oh yeah.

"I...I just wanted to come by and say I'm sorry for what happened to you. I...I know about what you went through. I know about your struggles. And I'm so sorry you couldn't beat them. I can't really fathom what it was like to go through what you did for as long as you did." While she was speaking, Rafael & Angie got Marco's attention and silently questioned him, having not realized that he had told her about Giovanni; it was a very tightly kept secretly that nobody outside the family knew about. Then again, given that the circumstances of his death and the circumstances of Star's explosion of rage were so similar, it only made perfect sense for her to know about it.

"Marco...Marco told me all about you. And wherever you are, I hope you know that he loved you very much." Tears started forming in her eyes. She tried to picture in her mind what it would've been like for him to be playing with her the way he played with Marco. She had no doubts that he would've loved her the way he loved his nephew. "I know you were a big part of his life when he was younger, and...I know you would be proud of the man he's grown up into. I know I am." She looked back at Marco, drying a tear and blowing him a kiss, which he immediately returned. She turned back to the tombstone, the tear she wiped away returning quickly. "I know it's probably weird to have someone you've never met talking to you like this, but...I just felt like I had to. See, I kinda went through something like this myself. Actually...I'm _still_ going through it.

"See, I come from this whole other dimension called Mewni. Or at least I _did_ before the whole-you know what, it's not important. Point is...a lot of stuff..._happened_, and I had to deal with all of it, and I didn't really do a good job of dealing with it. I'm still really not, but I'm getting there. But I had to put up with a _lot_ of stress and responsibility, and when that started to happen...I started to push the people around me away. And that still bothers me. They stuck around for me because they're the most awesome friends that I don't deserve, but...it was relentless, exhausting, a-and one day it just...I just finally snapped and I started wailing on a mirror. You know...like you did."

She paused to compose herself. The physical pain of her glass encounter may have been long gone, but the mental scars were almost as fresh as ever. Eventually she would have to fully confront this side of her. The side of rage, anguish, fury, and resentment...eventually she would have to face all of her demons and either conquer them or let them conquer her. But today was not that day. "I...guess I lucked out, since I'm...still here. But I can't lie, it's n-not been easy. It's not easy to think sometimes that maybe - just maybe - I _shouldn't_ be here. But you know what? Despite all of that, I'm _glad_ I'm still here.

"I have an amazing group of friends that I look forward to seeing every day..." She turned back around to her family, Buff Frog, and Marco. "I have a family that - despite all of the tumult and tension - loves me dearly and wants me to be happy. And best of all, I have _the _most amazing, caring, wonderful, beautiful boyfriend that I could ever ask for. Your nephew loves me more than anything in this world, and I can't wait for the time where I'm finally able to take care of myself and support him in a way that I know he deserves. He's given me so much...every day he's made me feel loved, he's made me feel worthy of _being_ loved. I can't possibly imagine my life without him." She blew Marco another kiss before turning back to the tombstone.

"It's funny...I-I actually convinced his parents to let me hold onto their promise rings because...because I really wanted to propose to Marco." Another tear fell from her eye. "On my world, my Mom had to marry pretty young because her kingdom depended on her having a king. I-I don't think my mom was ready for that kind of commitment, and I don't blame her, but the kingdom had to come first. But now...there _is_ no monarchy, there _is_ no kingdom, so I don't _have_ to marry so soon. I have time now. But that doesn't matter to me...I _want_ to marry him. He's the best thing that's ever come into my life, and I've almost lost him so many times for so many reasons. I don't want that to happen ever again."

It didn't even occur to Star that she was speaking loudly enough for everyone behind her to hear her. Their reactions all ranged from "aww that's so sweet" to "wow, she's serious." Marco had the most surprised reaction of the group. Even after he'd known about those rings for two weeks, it still hadn't fully sunk in for him just how serious she was.

"I know I'm too young for that, and I know I'm _nowhere_ near ready to support him the way he needs or deserves. But I _love_ him." Now the tears were coming full force. "You and your family did an amazing job raising him and I'm so grateful I've gotten to know them all. I just wish I got the chance to meet you too." She took a deep breath, giving herself a moment to compose herself and wrap up her moment. "I feel like I was given a second chance at life. Like...I wasn't supposed to die that day. And I promise you I'm gonna fight like hell to beat all of these demons. For the both of us. We both deserve it."

She gently kissed the tombstone and stood up, dusting herself off and walking back to her family, who embraced her immediately. Soon the Diazes joined in, and finally Buff Frog. "Do you feel better?" Marco asked her.

Star pulled away slightly and looked at him, nodding. "Yeah, I do."

"That was so beautiful, sweetie." Angie spoke, hugging her a second time. "Thank you."

Still more tears fell from her eyes, but ones of joy and optimism. "No, thank _you._ Thank you _all._" She spoke, slowly lowering her head to conceal her tears. Rafael gently perked her back up to face him.

"He would've loved you so much." Was all he said, and everyone agreed with that sentiment.

"Thanks, guys. Let's get out of here." She started to make her way for the exit before before stopped by Marco.

"Wait!" He shouted, carefully grabbing her arm. Once she was stopped, he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out the box with the promise rings. "Isn't there something you want to do first?" He handed the box to her. It took her a moment to put the pieces together, but once she did, her face lit up with a mixture of pride and confusion.

"Wait...but..."

"Don't worry we're not treating it as official or anything. I just thought...you know, that it'd make you feel better about all this." He smiled warmly. Damn that smile was cute.

"Are you sure?" She asked him; he proudly nodded. Once again the adults were all silently "aww'ing" to themselves. Star opened the box to reveal the promise rings in there, and she cleared her throat preparing to speak.

"I...don't really know where to start. What can I say? Marco, you're the best thing that's ever come into my life. I-I feel like I've taken you for granted..." And the mix of emotions suddenly kicked back in. "From being best friends with you to having a crush on you to...to falling head over heels...and now to making love with you. I feel so blessed to have someone as loving, generous, and beautiful as you in my life. You love me for me, faults and all. And I couldn't ask for anything more. Sometimes I can't help but look back at everything that's happened over the last year plus and I just think 'Why does _anyone_ put up with me?' But you do it, and you do it proudly. And I'll never forget that. I'll always cherish every memory we've had together, every adventure, every hardship...because it was all with _you_. I want to spend every waking second of the rest of my life with you. I want to have a _life_ with you. I want to raise a family. I want to grow old and gray and wrinkly with you. There's nobody else in this world I can say that about.

"I know that I'm way too young to be thinking about this. I know I'm in no position to be able to support you the way you need or deserve. I _know_ I'm kind of a hot mess at the moment about a lot of things in my life. But if there's only one thing that I'm certain about, it's that...I love you, Marco Diaz. I love you with every fiber of my being. And I know - I _**KNOW**_ \- when all is said and done I'll do everything that I can possibly do to be the best girlfriend and wife that you deserve." She had to pause again, letting the tears fall from her eyes. Marco patiently stood there, smiling, tears forming in his eyes too. Finally her eyes cleared and she found strength within her to go. She opened the box and took out one of the rings, holding it near Marco's hand. "Marco Ubaldo Diaz...when the time is right..._will you marry me?_"

He didn't hesitate for a second before answering. "_Yes._" It was as clear and concise as she could've hoped for. So she took the ring and put it on his ring finger, then took the other ring and put it on her own ring finger. A moment passed of them just staring at the rings on their respective fingers. But that eventually gave away to the two embracing in a warm, tight hug. With the breeze blowing through their hair surrounding them in a perfect atmosphere of love. The adults behind them all started to tear up at the sight.

"MAZEL TOV!" Rafael shouted abruptly, drawing laughter from all of them, including Star & Marco.

"I love you Marco Diaz."

"I love you too Star Butterfly."

"Can we wear these rings all the time now? It...It only feels right."

Marco looked back at his parents, who gave an approving nod his way. "Absolutely." Star squealed happily at the news, kissing him passionately in the process. When she pulled away from him, they took each other's hands and stared for the longest time. It was only after softly caressing her hands did Marco get an idea. And it didn't take long for Star to pick up on the idea as well. "Hey...do you think your wounds are healed?"

Star hesitated, putting her gaze on the bandages consuming her arms and hands. "Uh...I don't know."

"Would you like to find out?" She took a deep breath and slowly nodded. She wasn't fully ready to do this, but she trusted Marco more than anything. So she relented and allowed him to start slowing pulling the bandages off of her. With each wrap of bandage pulled off, more of her skin was revealed; her wounds were essentially gone. You wouldn't even be able to tell that just two weeks ago she had busted a mirror so hard it almost killed her. "See, Star? All better."

She lifted her arms to eye level and took a good long minute examining them. It still wasn't real to her. It was like she didn't _want_ it to be real, an idea that came to Marco pretty quickly.

"Star...?" He spoke, which seemed to spook her out of her trance. "What's wrong?"

After some more examination of her arms, she finally put them down & sighed, looking at the boy with crestfallen eyes. "I don't know. I guess...I guess having those bandages on me was like...like a shield. It protected me from looking at the wounds I made."

"You didn't want to think about what happened."

"No, I didn't. I...still don't." She admitted, rubbing her right arm in discomfort. "Our vacation was a wonderful distraction from all of the demons. But now I have to confront them, and I'm really not looking forward to doing that."

"I don't blame you. But you won't have to do it alone. We're _all_ here for you."

"I know." She nodded and smiled warmly, turning her attention to the adults. "I need to ask you all for something."

"Whatever you need us to do, just name it." River said proudly, with the other adults joining in with no hesitation.

'I need you...I need you all to be patient with me." She said solemnly, looking at her feet. "I don't really know...what's wrong. Something in me feels broken, whether it's my head...or my heart...or both. I need to figure out what it is and fix it. I don't want it to take too long, but I can't guarantee that it'll be quick."

"But it _shouldn't_ be quick, darling." Eclipsa said softly. "When it comes to your well-being there are no quick fixes."

"It takes a lot of work and lot of patience." Moon continued, echoing the sentiment, sounding as though she had lived through a similar ordeal. "And you're going to fall down and stumble. A lot."

"It's not _us_ you need to worry about having patience. It's _you_." River picked up. "We're all prepared to do whatever we need to do to help you, and we're prepared to wait as long as we need to for you to beat these pesky demons. Are you?"

She finally lifted her head up to face them head on, and she nodded slowly, a smile forming on her face. "It's not going to be easy, and it's not going to be fun. But I refuse to go down without a fight. I've got too much to look forward to." She glanced over at her boyfriend, who was standing right next to her, smiling proudly. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed again, drawing more cute aww's from the adults. While they kissed, Marco's eyes inadvertently popped open and he caught sight of their friends hanging out by one of the graves in the distance.

"Star, look-" He pulled out and directed her attention to the grave in question. "What are our friends doing here?"

"I guess Janna's teaching Kelly all about the legend of Bon-Bon the Birthday Clown." She quipped, getting a laugh from the boy.

"Why don't we go see what they're up to?" He started to walk towards them but was stopped by Star putting her hand in front of him.

"Wait!" She said as she used her other hand to fiddle in her pocket, pulling out a bag. "I still have my bag of jokes on me. Wanna go mess with them?"

Once again it took very little time for Marco to respond. "You bet I do!"

They embraced and shared one more kiss. Still, the adults chose to say nothing but admire from a distance. When they finished, Star turned her back to him and gestured to him to climb onto her back. "Hop on, Diaz! The Butterfly Train is leaving the station!"

Laughing, he climbed onto her back and held on for dear life. "Charge!"

"...wrong mode of transportation, Marco."

"Oh, right. Uh...Full Speed Ahead!"

"_That's_ more like it!" She took off towards their group of friends; about halfway towards them she took two little balls out of her joke bag and threw them at the tombstone they were standing by, creating a large cloud of smoke and allowing the two of them to sneak into the scene undetected, resulting in them both tackling their friends in a surprise maneuver and getting laughter from everyone.

Their parents all watched on with pride in their eyes as their children played with their friends. "They really _are_ great kids." Angie spoke. Moon unhesitatingly nodded with a smile.

"They are." She agreed proudly. "And I'm thankful they found each other."

"I suppose it's true..." Eclipsa interrupted, wiping a tear from her eye. "Love _is_ the strongest magic in existence." The adults all shared murmurs of agreement while keeping their focus on the kids.

"The last generation always leave mess to be cleaned." Buff Frog said, finally finding an opportunity to speak. "But with next generation...there is always hope."

Everyone stayed where they stood for what seemed like hours, just watching from a distance as their kids and their friends had themselves a grand old time telling stories, rough-housing, and messing with the tombstone of an urban legend. There was still a brand new world looking to be explored and brand new possibilities to be unlocked - especially with interdimensional traveling possibly being a thing again - but for the time being, all felt right. Everyone was where they needed to be, and everything felt like it was as it should be.

The age of magic was over. A new age - one hopefully of peace, love, and harmony - had begun.

**The End.**

**And that's it. That's "Unforgettable Getaway." I hope you've all enjoyed this story. I know I've had an absolute ball writing it. Probably one of my favorite stories to have ever written, and I've been on this site for over 11 years, so that should say something.**

**As I previously mention, I've recently released the first two chapters of another post-Cleaved fanfic, entitled "Beautiful Christmas" that takes place six months after this story's conclusion. I'm also prepping work to begin on a _fourth_ post-Cleaved fic, which is tentatively titled "The Ballad of Earth-Mewni" that looks to be in a similar vein to other good stories like "When Two Worlds Collide," "Starco vs the Forces of Evil," and "The Greatest Gift," just to name a few.**

**Keep tabs on my profile page for more information.**

**As always, please read & review. And once again, thank you to everyone who's been sticking around for this since the start of "When Dimensions Cleave." I seriously cannot thank you all enough.**


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